Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-17-Speech-1-135"
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"en.20100517.17.1-135"2
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"I should like to start by thanking everyone for the enormously constructive cooperation we have enjoyed. I hope that, after tomorrow’s vote, we shall be able to proceed on an equal footing, since Parliament is speaking almost with one voice to the Commission and the Council; with the ultimate aim of reaching an agreement for the benefit of European consumers, European citizens.
Finally, there is the famous ‘Made in’ issue, on which the Commission made proposals back in 2005. We have actually copied these word for word and hope that, with the support of the Commission and Parliament, the Council will change its mind and see things in a positive light. Therefore, I call on the Council to agree a compromise with the Commission and Parliament that will lead to an improvement in this regulation in the interests of consumers and of better information.
In my opinion, the Commission’s proposal to cast the labelling of textile products in the form of a regulation is better than incorporating this into existing directives. I refer, in this connection, to Mr Monti’s report, which states that the problems in Europe are actually caused by the transposition of directives, which then end up with 12 or 27 different levels. I have always been an advocate of regulations, and I hope that the Commission will produce more proposals for regulations in future.
The objective of this regulation is to enable new textile fibres to be placed on the market more quickly. This also enjoys broad support within the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, as we are seeking to optimise the internal market as far as possible.
There is something else we have sought to do, and this is also something that concerns the European public. In this report, we have sought to simplify the labelling of clothing, which is also a textile product, for example, by introducing European standardisation. We now know that this is no longer so easy, and so we have requested a study, an impact assessment, to look into whether less can also be more; less consumer information, that is. Consumers can consult a website or other source for additional information if required.
Labels must simply be shorter, so that manufacturers can target a single market and do not need to sew whole newspapers into items of clothing, thus confusing the consumer; food labelling has already shown us how far this can go. This is what we want to prevent.
We have made a number of proposals asking the Commission to allow simpler labels to be affixed to textile products. The fact is that consumers are entitled to certain basic information, for example, ‘what am I buying?’, ‘what is it made of?’ and ‘where does it come from?’. We believe that consumers are entitled to this information when they buy an item, and it should not be concealed. Thus, we find ourselves once more in the area of unfair commercial practices. Monitoring and enforcement are very difficult in this area, which is why we have made proposals in this regard.
Hence, we are talking about providing very simple information and, if consumers want to know more, they can obtain information on request; if this goes well, the Commission will choose the best way to be of service to the consumer.
We have made a number of proposals. If toys have a textile component in excess of 85%, we consider that they must comply with this. Some people say that this is all well and good but that we already have a directive on toy safety. Yet that specifically concerns safety rather than consumer information about what the product is made of, which is something I can imagine consumers want to know.
Then, for example, there is an amendment along the following lines: consumers are entitled to know whether a product is made of animal-derived materials, and they need look no further: the manufacturer must indicate whether the product incorporates any animal products. We are talking not about the fibre but about other materials, such as pieces of fur."@en1
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