The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 of 27 June 2005 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences,

–  having regard to Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market,

–  having regard to Article IX and Article XXIV:5 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994),

–  having regard to the European Parliament Report of 13 October 2005 on 'Prospects for trade relations between the EU and China'(1),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code and to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 setting up, inter alia, the European Community’s non-preferential rules of origin system,

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 of 28 March 1983 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty,

–  having regard to the Commission Communication on 'The future of the textiles and clothing sector in the enlarged EU' (COM(2003) 649),

–  having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, at present, the European Union does not have harmonised provisions or uniform practices on origin marking in the EU, while disparities between regulations in force in the Member States as well as the absence of clear Community rules in this area result in a fragmentary legal framework,

B.  whereas the results of the Commission’s general stakeholder consultation on EU origin marking indicate that European consumers’ perception of the relevance of origin marking in relation to safety, social and environmental concerns is generally high,

C.  whereas the EU has set itself the objective of improving the competitiveness of European industry; whereas, for certain categories of consumer goods, their production in the EU is associated with a reputation for quality and high production standards,

D.  whereas an origin marking scheme would allow European consumers to be fully aware of the origin of the products they purchase and enable them to identify the social, environmental and safety standards applicable,

E.  whereas the proposal introducing a mandatory country of origin marking system in the EU is restricted to a limited number of imported products such as textiles, jewellery, apparel, footwear, leather, lamps and light fittings, glassware and handbags, for which the 'made in' requirement provides essential information for final consumers’ choice,

F.  whereas a number of the EU's major trading partners, such as the United States, China, Japan and Canada, have enacted mandatory origin marking,

G.  whereas the proposed regulation is crucial to ensuring that a level playing field is restored with those trade partners,

H.  whereas increased awareness among consumers, making European products more attractive, would particularly benefit SMEs and sectors exposed to global competition,

I.  whereas the 'made in' requirement would contribute to reducing counterfeiting and unfair competition,

J.  whereas the Interinstitutional Framework Agreement of 26 May 2005 obliges the Commission to keep Parliament fully and promptly informed about its legislative proposals,

1.  Notes the proposal for a Council Regulation (DOC 2005/0254 (ACC)) introducing compulsory indication of the country of origin for certain products imported from third countries into the European Union ('origin marking');

2.  Deplores the fact that, despite the Commission and the Council's being fully aware of the importance that Parliament attaches to origin marking, the Commission did not even send the proposed regulation to Parliament for information; understands that this proposal does not legally require consultation of Parliament; insists, however, that the European Parliament should always be given the opportunity to express its views on any relevant initiative undertaken by other Community institutions in a timely manner;

3.  Insists on the Commission's obligation to ensure the involvement of Parliament, in accordance with the Interinstitutional Framework Agreement of 26 May 2005, in such a way as to take Parliament's views into account as far as possible;

4.  Calls on the Commission and Council to inform Parliament without delay about the results of any further impact assessment and legal analysis carried out in particular with respect to the alleged inconsistencies of the proposed regulation with existing Community legislation and WTO rules;

5.  Calls on the Commission and Council to continue promoting the image of European industry and ensuring that its reputation is not tarnished by inaccurate or misleading indications of origin;

6.  Calls on the Commission and Council to ensure a level playing field, with trading partners having implemented origin marking requirements;

7.  Calls on the Commission and Council to set up proper customs surveillance and enforcement mechanisms in order to combat counterfeiting;

8.  Urges Member States to maintain a consistent Community approach to this issue to enable European consumers to receive complete and accurate information while promoting the image and attractiveness of high value European industrial products;

9.  Encourages the Commission to intervene, together with the Member States, to defend consumers' legitimate rights and expectations whenever there is evidence of deceptive behaviour and/or use of fraudulent or misleading origin markings by foreign producers and importers;

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) P6_TA(2005)0381.