22 Amendments of Katrin LANGENSIEPEN related to 2023/0049(COD)
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The form in which EU fertilising products are labelled in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 should be adapted to technological and societal changes in the field of digitalisation, with the aim at improving or, at least, maintaining, the quality and accessibility of the information of such labels.
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Providing information on a label in a digital form (‘digital label’) has clear benefits. Digital labelling can improve the communication of labelling information both by avoiding overcrowded physical labels and by allowing users to rely on various reading options available only for digital formats, such as increased font, automatic search, loud speakers or translation into other languages. In addition, digital labelling of EU fertilising products contributes to the ongoing progress with regard to the digitalis and green transformation of the European agricultural sector, reducing packaging waste and can facilitate theing reporting obligations of farmers regarding the use of such products. Digital labelling can also lead to a more efficient management of the labelling obligations by economic operators, by facilitating the update of labelling information and permitting a more targeted information to users. In addition, digital labelling can contribute to reducing labelling costs all along the supply chain, which could ultimately lead to a reduction in fertiliser prices, given that the labels of EU fertilising products may be changed following a transaction between economic operators, before reaching end-users,
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) However, digital labelling can also create new challenges concerning the availability and quality of the information on labels being compromised, as well as for the vulnerable population groups, in particular persons with no, or insufficient, digital skills or persons with disabilities, and thus accentuateaccess to digital devices needed to retrieve the digital labels, and for persons with disabilities, and thus preventing these groups from easily obtaining essential information, such as safety precautions, usage instructions or environmental impact, ultimately accentuating the digital divide. Therefore, digital labelling should be introduced in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, under certain conditions, and should be easily legible, accessible and understandable to all groups, taking into account the need to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment, and the digital readiness.
Amendment 25 #
(5) Economic operators should remain free to choose if to provide a digital or physical label. This will ensure that such economic operators have flexibility to opt for the rules most appropriate to their situation. It is particularly important not to create unjustified costs for small and medium-sized enterprises for which digital labelling might be challenging, given the reduced volumes or types of EU fertilising products. It is also important to support such enterprises with guidance and training programmes in order to allow them to develop the adequate skills and capabilities to comply with this Regulation.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Where economic operators opt for digital labelling of EU fertilising products supplied to end-users in a packaging, they should therefore ensure that a minimum set of relevant information is also available on the physical label. In this context and with regard to other rules specific to products made available in a packaging, a packaging should contain no more than 1000 kg in coherence with Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/201124 . Products supplied in a packaging exceeding this limit should be considered as being supplied without a packaging for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009. This will also address the challenges that vulnerable population groups may face. The specific information that economic operators should be allowed to provide only on a digital label should therefore reflect the current state of the digitalisation of the society and the particular situation of the users of EU fertilising products. In order to enable all end-users to make informed choices before buying EU fertilising products and to ensure the safe handling and use of such products by all groups of end-users, labelling information concerning safety, the protection of human and animal health and, the environment and the impact of the fertilisers, including their production process, as well as minimum information on the agronomic and agroecological efficiency of the EU fertilising products and on their content and use, should always be provided on the physical label. Digital labels should also include information on GHG emissions related to the production process. Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 should clearly indicate which information may be provided only digitally. _________________ 24 Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 of 25 February 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and implementing Council Directive 97/78/EC as regards certain samples and items exempt from veterinary checks at the border under that Directive, OJ L 54, 26.2.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) For EU fertilising products supplied without packaging, the economic operators are to provide the labelling elements in a leaflet. The leaflet, contrary to physical labels, has no physical link to the product itself and therefore does not offer immediate access to the information relevant to the product when handling it. Providing the same labelling elements in digital format would imply an adjustment of the way the information is retrieved without creating significant risks to users. Economic operators should therefore be allowed to provide all the labelling elements referred to in Annex III of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 in a digital label only for the EU fertilising products supplied without packaging. Where the economic operators choose to provide, in addition to a digital label, a physical label, they should be free to decide which labelling elements to include in that physical label, taking into account the need to include a minimum set of relevant information, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to ensure that users receive all the labelling elements on the digital label and will not need to compile the information both from a physical and a digital label, economic operators using a digital label should be required to include all such labelling elements in that label, even if they are also included on the physical label. The digital label should also contain information allowing end-users to identify and contact the manufacturer of the EU fertilising products and, where appropriate, the importer and the responsible person in the EU as defined in Regulation (EU) 2023/988, as this is an essential information and providing it digitally will facilitate the link between the product and the digital label. In addition, given that fertilising products are also placed on the market as non-harmonised products, it is important to include on the digital label the CE-mark and any corresponding reference to a notified body, so that end-users can deduce only from using the digital label that the product is marketed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009. However, to facilitate the update of certain information to be provided by the manufacturers, which changes frequently and is not used on a daily basis by end-users (more precisely, the batch number and the production date), the manufacturers should have the choice to provide the information either physically or digitally.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Since digital labels, similarly to physical labels, are a means of providing mandatory information on EU fertilising products to users, economic operators should ensure free access to digital labels from the moment it is placed on the market until the expiry date. In addition, and in order to improve the chances that users will in practice retrieve the information, the information provided on the digital label should be easily accessible to end-users in the Union through widely used digital technologies compatible with all major operating systems and browsers, and ensuring that access to the label does not require any password, registration, nor any specific application and taking into account the needs of vulnerable groups.. Economic operators should not mix the information required by Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 with other information not requested by Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, such as marketing or commercial statements. Digital space has no space limitations typical for physical labels affixed to the packaging. It is therefore important to keep the labelling elements provided in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 concentrated in one place, so that they are not difficult to find among various other information which economic operators might provide. Economic operators should also ensure that digital labels are presented in a way that takes into account the needs of vulnerable population groups, including persons with disabilities, to further reduce the challenges such groups may face.
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Taking into account both the interest of users to have access to information about EU fertilising products with a relatively long shelf life and the interest of economic operators to avoid unnecessary costs, economic operators should ensure that the digital label is available for a period of 5 years from the moment the EU fertilising product is placed on the market until the expiry date.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to keep Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 up-to-date to technical progress, new scientific evidence and the evolution of the digitalisation of the society, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of supplementing the requirements for digital labelling and amending Annex III with regard to which labelling elements economic operators making available on the market EU fertilising products in a packaging to end-users may provide on a digital label only. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, taking into account the views of all relevant stakeholders, including at expert level, and that those consultations are conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making25 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. _________________ 25 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) When deciding which labelling elements may be provided only digitally by economic operators making available on the market EU fertilising products in a packaging to end-users, the Commission should take into account the level of digital readiness among users of EU fertilising products and the need to keep the use of such products safe for human and animal health and the environment, as well as the need to ensure availability of the digital label from the moment the fertilising product is placed on the market until the expiry date.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 6 – paragraph 7
Article 6 – paragraph 7
(a) in a language and a format which can be easily understood by end-users, including persons with disabilities, as determined by the Member State concerned;
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 6 – paragraph 7
Article 6 – paragraph 7
(b) clear, accurate, understandable and intelligible;
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
(a) in a language and a format which can be easily understood by end-users, including vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilites, as determined by the Member State concerned;
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
(aa) clear, accurate, understandable and intelligible;
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 b (new)
Article 11 b (new)
(b) easily and directly accessible by all major operating systems, without a need to register in advance, to download or install applications or to provide a password;accessible to all potential users in the Union;
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 b (new)
Article 11 b (new)
(d) presented in a way that also addresses the needs of vulnerable groups and supports, as relevant, the necessary adaptations to facilitate access by those groups, including persons with disabilities;
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 b (new)
Article 11 b (new)
(e) available for a period of 5 years from the moment the EU fertilising product is placed on the market until the expiry date, including in case of an insolvency, a liquidation or a cessation of activity in the Union of the economic operator that created it.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 b (new)
Article 11 b (new)
4. A data carrier used for a digital label shall be printed or placed physically on the packaging or, where the EU fertilising products are made available on the market without a packaging, on the accompanying document or leaflet, visibly, legibly, accessibily, easily understandable and in a way that allows it to be processed automatically by digital devices.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 c (new)
Article 11 c (new)
2. Upon request by the end-users, or without such request where the digital label is temporarily unavailable at the time of purchase, economic operators making available on the market EU fertilising products to such end-users shall provide the information included on the digital label, by alternative means and free of charge, from the moment the fertilising product is placed on the market until the expiry date.;
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 c (new) 2(5) e a (new)
Article 11 c (new) 2(5) e a (new)
(ea) take into account the provision of the information from the moment the EU fertilising product is placed on the market until the expiry date;
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
Article 11 c (new)
Article 11 c (new)
10. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 44 to amend Annex III, as regards the labelling information which economic operators may provide on a digital label only in accordance with Article 11a(3) point (b), in order to adapt that Annex to technical and scientific progress or to the level of digital readiness among end-users of EU fertilising products. When adopting the delegated acts, the Commission shall take into account the need to ensure a high level of safety and protection of human and animal health and the environment.;