Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament^f1,

Whereas:

Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2597/97^f2 sets up the products to be considered drinking milk, in particular with regard to their fat content.

In order to facilitate the changeover from existing pre-accession national rules to Community rules, several transitional derogations have been adopted on the occasion of recent accessions.

Taking into account various consumer habits in different Member States as well as the expiring derogations, it seems appropriate to allow the marketing, as drinking milk, of products with a fat content other than the existing three categories.

In order to provide clarity for the consumers, such milk should however not be called whole milk, semi-skimmed milk or skimmed milk but have its fat content percentage clearly indicated on the packaging.

Regulation (EC) No 2597/97 should be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: