Revised community eco-label award scheme (regul. 880/92/EEC)

The Commission's amended proposal incorporates 7 of the 42 amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading. The amendments included seek to: - stress the importance of environmental NGOs and consumer organisations in the decision-making process (NGOs should be consulted when ecological criteria are established); - include a high level of environmental protection in the criteria for awarding the eco-label; - exclude medical devices from the field of application of the regulation; - inform the competent authorities of any modifications made to products for which an eco-label has been applied for; - stipulate that the label must contain useful information on the reasons why it has been awarded in order to help consumers understand its importance; - with regard to the low technical reliability of products, to make aptitude for use one of the fundamental criteria to be met. It should be noted that the Commission rejected amendments seeking to: - change the legal basis for the proposal (article 130 S (1), article 100 A and article 189 B of the EC Treaty); - replace the European Eco-label Organisation (EEO) by a Technical Committee for the Eco-label (TCEL) with no legal personality and a solely technical mandate; - introduce a graduated eco-label; - extend the field of application of the regulation to services; - reduce charges; - reconvene the eco-label consultative forum; - promote the use of products with the eco-label by calling on the Commission and the European and national authorities to set an example in their public purchasing policies; - introduce complementarity between the Community label and national labels.�