COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 June 2011
on establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for copying and graphic paper
(notified under document C(2011) 3751)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/332/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (1), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,
After consulting the European Union Eco-labelling Board,
Whereas:
(1)
Under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to those products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established according to product groups.
(3)
Commission Decision 1999/554/EC (2) has established the ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for copying and graphic paper. Following the review of the criteria set out in that Decision, Commission Decision 2002/741/EC (3) has established revised criteria which are valid until 30 June 2011.
(4)
Those criteria have been further reviewed in the light of technological developments. In the light of the review, it is appropriate to modify the definition of the product group and to establish new ecological criteria. Those new criteria, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, should be valid for 4 years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
(5)
Decision 2002/741/EC should be replaced for reasons of clarity.
(6)
A transitional period should be allowed for producers whose products have been awarded the Ecolabel for copying and graphic paper on the basis of the criteria set out in Decision 2002/741/EC, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their products to comply with the revised criteria and requirements. Producers should also be allowed to submit applications based on the criteria set out in Decision 2002/741/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision until the lapse of validity of that Decision.
(7)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The product group ‘copying and graphic paper’ shall comprise sheets or reels of not converted, unprinted blank paper and not converted boards up to basis weight of 400 g/m2.
2. It shall not include newsprint paper, thermally sensitive paper, photographic and carbonless paper, packaging and wrapping paper as well as fragranced paper.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Decision, the following definition shall apply:
‘recycled fibres’ means fibres diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process or generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for their intended purpose. Excluded is reutilisation of materials generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it (mill broke - own produced or purchased).
Article 3
In order to be awarded the EU Ecolabel under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, an item of copying and graphic paper shall fall within the product group ‘copying and graphic paper’ as defined in Article 1 of this Decision and shall comply with the criteria as well as the related assessment and verification requirements set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 4
The criteria for the product group ‘copying and graphic paper’, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, shall be valid for 4 years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 5
For administrative purposes the code number assigned to ‘copying and graphic paper’ shall be ‘011’.
Article 6
Decision 2002/741/EC is repealed.
Article 7
1. By derogation from Article 6, applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘copying and graphic paper’ submitted before the date of adoption of this Decision shall be evaluated in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 2002/741/EC.
2. Applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘copying and graphic paper’ submitted from the date of adoption of this Decision but by 30 June 2011 at the latest may be based either on the criteria set out in Decision 2002/741/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision.
Those applications shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria on which they are based.
3. Where the Ecolabel is awarded on the basis of an application evaluated in accordance with the criteria set out in Decision 2002/741/EC, that Ecolabel may be used for 12 months from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 June 2011.