Detergents

The committee adopted the report by Mauro NOBILIA (UEN, I) amending the Council's common position under the 2nd reading of the codecision procedure: - the new legislation should be re-assessed after three years and reviewed after five years in the light of separate legislation in the pipeline on the biodegradability of surfactants, a key ingredient of detergents; - a new article should be inserted providing for a "sunset clause", as in financial services legislation, whereby subsequent implementing rules for this legislation which are adopted by an advisory committee would expire after eight years unless they are renewed by EU lawmakers; - in order to achieve the objectives, in particular the objective of ensuring a high degree of protection of human health, the regulation should also lay down rules on restrictions other than those on grounds of biodegradability; - any derogation granted should be reviewed after 5 years and the applicant should provide information to demonstrate that he is developing alternatives which will fulfil the requirements for "ultimate aerobic biodegradation"; - the list of substances to be labelled should be shortened and grouped together in order to make them easier for consumers to recognise; - not just enzymes and disinfectants but also preservatives, perfumes and optical brighteners should be labelled; - a complete list of substances added to the detergent should be published on the internet and made available via a freephone or supplied in writing on demand and within a reasonable period. In order to make this information easily understandable, the Commission should establish, one year after the regulation comes into force, a common ingredients nomenclature for detergents. In addition, the website address, telephone number and postal address of the information service should be indicated on the primary packaging; - if a product carries any claim to be "green" but not the European Eco-label, it should clearly indicate which of the European Eco-label criteria it does not fulfil; - national rules on detergents should remain valid as long as there is no EU legislation to the contrary.�