| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian |
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 3.9.00 |
| Publication Date | 03/09/2000 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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The Directive relating to the composition, manufacturing specifications, packaging and labelling of cocoa and chocolate products was adopted in June 2000 and published in the Official Journal, L197, 3 August 2000, p19. This is possibly the end of a long-running saga in EU policy-making which pitted, in the name of the single market, the chocolate-making traditions of certain Member States against those of other Member States, the outcome of which, it is suggested, will considerably impact on the economic interests of cocoa producing developing countries. The commercial interests of chocolate producers also had a voice in developments, as did that of the consumers of this most addictive and beguiling of food products. Background In 1973 the EC adopted Council Directive 73/241/EEC of 24 July 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption (Official Journal L228, 16.8.73, p23-35) The legislative history of the proposal can be traced in:
The Directive listed the permissible ingredients, and the permissible quantities of those ingredients, for cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption. The new Member States, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, were given a derogation with respect to the requirement in the Directive that no vegetable fats other than cocoa butter could be used in the manufacture of such products (traditionally, these countries allowed up to 5&percent; of the final weight of the product to be made up of vegetable fats, most commonly shea butter). In the years which followed, four other Member States, Portugal, Austria, Finland and Sweden, sought and secured the same derogation, with the result that the market for cocoa and chocolate products was effectively compartmentalised, seven countries allowing substitutes for cocoa butter and eight countries banning them. In 1996 the European Commission sought to rectify this situation by bringing forward a new draft Directive under Article 100a (now 95) of the Treaty of Rome (COM (1995)722 final). This Article requires a Directive to be adopted jointly by both the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament under a procedure known as Co-decision procedure. The main object of the Directive was to allow cocoa and chocolate products to circulate freely within the single market, to simplify the existing Directive and the subsequent amendments to it (so-called 'horizontal' simplification), to take fuller account of the need for consumer information, and to ensure compliance with the Union's obligations to producers of raw materials in developing countries. The draft Directive proposed to allow Member States to decide, in the name of subsidiarity, whether or not to allow the use of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in their own national production. In no case would such fats be allowed to exceed 5&percent; of the final weight of the product. Minimum levels of cocoa butter and dry cocoa content were laid down. The labelling requirement was that the consumer be given 'correct, neutral and objective' information on the use of vegetable fats and a full list of ingredients. Products which respected all these stipulations would be allowed to circulate freely throughout the Member States. In October 1997, eighteen months after the submission of the draft Directive, the European Parliament, on the basis of a report by Mr Paul Lannoye on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, adopted a number of amendments to the draft, most of them concerning labelling, the Union's obligations to developing countries, and the entry into force of the Directive. The Parliament sought to make the labelling requirements more stringent, particularly with respect to the prominence given to any statement to the effect that a product 'contains vegetable fats other than cocoa butter'. The Parliament's amendments introduced a specific reference to the International Cocoa Agreement of 1993, under which the signatory states agreed to encourage the increase of cocoa consumption (this is in line with Articles 136 and 137 of the Treaty of Rome, under which the Union commits itself to fostering the economic and social development of Third World countries and to take account of their interests). The Parliament expressed its concern that at present there was no scientific method for determining the content by weight of a specific vegetable fat in the end product, and that without such a method compliance with the Directive could not be guaranteed. The Parliament proposed to delay the entry into force of the Directive until such a method could be developed: meanwhile the 1973 Directive would remain in force. The Parliament also decided to delete the Commission proposal that the designation 'milk chocolate', as used in Ireland and the United Kingdom, should become permissible for goods in free circulation within the single market (EP vote on first reading, 23 October 1997). Neither the Commission in its amended proposal of 3 March 1998 (COM (1997)682 final)(not available on EUR-LEX) nor the Council in its Common Position of 28 October 1999 accepted the Parliament's amendments. Negotiations between the institutions continued for several months, with the Parliament taking its final decision at second reading on 15 March 2000. Adoption of the Directive in the Council was on 23 June 2000; the text of Directive 2000/38/EC was published in the Official Journal L197, 3 August 2000, p19 (Note: this hyperlink will only work for 45 working days after 3.8.00. Thereafter it should be permanently accessible in the Legislation in Force section of EUR-LEX) The Directive
[Background text written by Timothy Bainbridge, August 2000] Further information within European Sources Online: European Sources Online: European Voice Further information can be seen in these external links: European Commission: European Commission, UK Representation United Kingdom: House of Lords: Select Committee on the European Union United Kingdom: House of Commons: European Standing Committee A United Kingdom: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) Oneworld Agriclick Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionary Alliance (BCCCA) The Chocolate Alliance BBC News Further and subsequent information on the subject of this week's In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'Chocolate' in the keyword field. Ian Thomson The Directive relating to the composition, manufacturing specifications, packaging and labelling of cocoa and chocolate products was adopted in June 2000, possibly marking the end of a long-running saga in EU policy-making which pitted, in the name of the single market, the chocolate-making traditions of certain Member States against those of other Member States |
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| Subject Categories | Internal Markets |
