Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 of 17 December 1992 on the common organization of the market in fishery and aquaculture products^f1, and in particular Article 2 (3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas common marketing standards were laid down for certain species of fish by Regulation (EEC) No 103/76^f2 and for certain species of crustaceans by Regulation (EEC) No 104/86^f3; whereas far-reaching new amendments must now be made to these Regulations in order to reflect market developments and changes in trade practices; whereas it is therefore necessary to revise these provisions entirely, in a single legal instrument, to ensure that they are clear and can be properly applied; whereas Regulations (EEC) No 103/76 and (EEC) No 104/76 should consequently be replaced;

Whereas the principal aims of the common marketing standards for fishery products are to improve products quality and thus make marketing easier to the benefit of both producers and consumers; whereas, since fishery products are unprocessed and are marketed fresh or chilled, their quality is determined largely by their freshness, which is assessed on the basis of objective criteria by organoleptic examination; whereas, if batches of fishery products are to be uniformly fresh, they must consist of products of the same species, and may come from the same fishing grounds and the same vessel only;

Whereas a small but adequate number of freshness categories should be established based on appropriate ratings for individual products groups; whereas, however, in view of the need to support quality products, at the latest as from 1 January 2000, not all freshness categories should be permitted to qualify for the intervention mechanisms introduced as part of the market organization arrangements;

Whereas the common marketing standards are also aimed at defining uniform trade characteristics for the products in question across the entire Community market in order to prevent distortions of competition and, secondly, to enable the market organization price arrangements to be applied uniformly; whereas, to that end, there should be a requirement that fishery products be graded on the basis of size categories determined according to weight or, in some individual cases, according to size;

Whereas the common marketing standards apply when all the products concerned, of Community origin or from third countries, intended for human consumption, are being sold for the first time on Community territory; whereas the standards apply without prejudice to health rules or rules adopted as part of stock conservation measures; whereas it is especially important to recall the primary importance, in all circumstances, of any minimum biological sizes in force, as against the minimum sizes determined for fishery products by the common marketing standards;

Whereas the application of the common marketing standards to products coming from third countries means that additional information must be shown on packaging; whereas this information need not be shown, however, where the products are brought into the Community by vessels flying the flag of a third country under the same conditions as Community catches;

Whereas, in view of normal practice in most Member States, it is advisable that the industry should grade fishery products for freshness and size; whereas, with a view in particular to assessing freshness on the basis of organoleptic criteria, provision should be made for the collaboration of experts appointed for this purpose by the trade organizations concerned;

Whereas, in order to keep each other informed, each Member State should supply the other Member States and the Commission with a list of the names and addresses of the experts and trade organizations concerned,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: