Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 on a revised Community eco-label award scheme^f1, and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) thereof and the sixth paragraph of point 2 of Annex V thereof,

After consulting the European Union Eco-Labelling Board,

Whereas:

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000, the Community eco-label may be awarded to a product possessing characteristics which enable it to contribute significantly to improvements in relation to key environmental aspects.

Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that specific eco-label criteria, drawn up on the basis of the criteria drafted by the European Union Eco-Labelling Board, are to be established according to product groups.

In the case of campsite service, the ecological criteria should be divided into criteria, each of which must be complied with, and criteria, a fixed proportion of which must be complied with.

The ecological criteria, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, should be valid for a period of three years.

As regards the fees relating to applications for and use of the eco-label by micro-enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation 96/280/EC of 3 April 1996 concerning the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises^f2, it is appropriate, in order to take account of the limited resources of micro-enterprises and their particular importance within this product group, to provide for reductions additional to those provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 and Article 5 of Commission Decision 2000/728/EC of 10 November 2000 establishing the application and annual fees of the Community eco-label^f3.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee instituted by Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: