(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2008)0401),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0279/2008),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A6-0105/2009),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Takes note of the Commission declaration annexed to this resolution;

3.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

4.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position at first reading corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EC) No ....)

COMMISSION DECLARATION

Independently of the adoption of the Ecolabel Regulation, the Commission confirms that it intends to propose a Regulation on eco-labelling of fishery products before the end of this year to be mainly based on criteria for sustainable fishing.

The study foreseen in Article 6(6) of the Ecolabel regulation dealing with additional aspects such as processing, pre-packaging, packaging and transport, which will examine the feasibility of the extension of the scope of the Ecolabel Regulation to food, including the products of fishing and aquaculture, will not influence or prejudge the adoption of this Regulation.