Detergents

The Parliament amended and tightened up the draft regulation from the Commission on detergents by including stricter conditions on derogations from biodegradability rules and clearer labelling for consumers. MEPs also took a stand on the question of phosphates by urging the Commission to table a new legislative proposal with a view to phasing out phosphates, or restricting them to specific applications, three years after the regulation takes effect. In addition, Parliament called for new proposals on testing for anaerobic biodegradation and the biodegradation of the product as a whole, these being the two elements of testing neglected by the Commission in its current proposal. On labelling, Parliament adopted an amendment which would group the list of other substances together into categories that are better known than the individual components, thus making them easier for consumers to recognise. Parliament supported the reporter's, Mauro NOBILIA's (UEN, I), view that an excess of cryptic information on labels can lead to confusion, thus negating the original point of including it. It should also be noted that an amendment was adopted stating that if a detergent product carries any claim to be 'green' and not the European Eco-label, then it must clearly indicate which of the European Eco-label criteria it does not fulfil. This must be indicated on the packaging next to and in same letter size as the 'green' claim.�