The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 of 27 June 2005 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences(1),

–   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(2),

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

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 October 2005 on prospects for trade relations between the EU and China(3),

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code(4) and to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993(5) 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(6),

–   having regard to the Commission Communication on the future of the textiles and clothing sector in the enlarged European Union (COM(2003)0649),

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

A.   whereas, at present, the EU does not have any harmonised provisions or uniform practices on origin marking in the EU; whereas 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 national measures imposing compulsory origin marking on goods imported from other Member States are prohibited, while there is no such limitation on compulsory origin marking on goods imported from third countries,

C.   whereas, in the Lisbon Agenda, the EU set itself the objective of strengthening the EU economy by, inter alia, improving the competitiveness of EU industry in the world economy; whereas, for certain categories of consumer goods, competitiveness may lie in the fact that their production in the EU is associated with a reputation for quality and high production standards,

D.   whereas an origin-marking scheme would have the aim of allowing EU consumers to be fully aware of the country of origin of the products they purchase; whereas consumers would thus be able to identify those products with the social, environmental and safety standards generally associated with that country,

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, ceramics and handbags, for which the 'made in' requirement provides valuable information for final consumer 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 requirements,

G.   whereas it is crucial to ensure that a level playing-field is restored with such trade partners,

H.   whereas increased awareness on the part of consumers, making EU products more attractive, would particularly benefit SMEs and sectors exposed to global competition,

I.   whereas the Framework Agreement of 26 May 2005 on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission obliges the Commission to keep Parliament fully and promptly informed about its legislative proposals,

1.  Notes the proposal for a Council Regulation introducing compulsory indication of the country of origin of 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 formally send the proposed regulation to Parliament for information; understands that this proposal does not legally require Parliament to be consulted; insists, however, that Parliament should always be given the opportunity to express its views on any relevant initiative taken 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 above-mentioned Framework Agreement, in such a way as to take Parliament's views into account as far as possible;

4.  Calls on the Commission and the 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 the Council to place special emphasis on promoting the image of EU industry inside and outside the Community, safeguarding its identity and specificity, and ensuring that the overall good reputation of the Community's industry and the image and attractiveness of high value EU products is not tarnished by inaccurate or misleading indications of origin;

6.  Stresses that consumer protection requires transparent and consistent trade rules including, inter alia, indications of origin;

7.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to take all necessary steps to ensure a level playing-field with trading partners which have implemented origin-marking requirements;

8.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to set up proper customs surveillance and enforcement mechanisms;

9.  Urges Member States to maintain a consistent Community approach to this issue to enable EU consumers to receive more complete and accurate information;

10.  Encourages the Commission to strongly intervene, together with the Member States, to defend consumers' legitimate rights and expectations whenever there is evidence of counterfeiting and/or use of fraudulent or misleading origin markings by non-EU producers and importers;

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

(1) OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1. (2) OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22. (3) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2005)0381. (4) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p.1. (5) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. (6) OJ L 105, 23.4.1983, p. 1.