92001E1247

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1247/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(27 April 2001)

Subject: Distortion of competition in the Belgian Federation by failure to comply with Directive 91/321/EC

In the Belgian Federation, Directive 91/321/EEC(1) of 14 May 1991 was transposed by the Royal Decree of 27 December 1993 on advertising for baby formula foods and the distribution of free samples. The directive partially puts into practice the international code of conduct on the marketing of substitutes for mother's milk, drawn up by the World Health Organisation and Unicef and adopted by the General Assembly of the WHO in 1981. In reply to a question of interpretation

by Senator Sabine de Bethune, Mrs Magda Aelvoet, Federal Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Living Environment stated on Thursday 22 March that the promotion campaigns by the manufacturers of baby formula foods are in conflict with the Decree. The distribution of free samples - and thus advertising for baby formulae - still seems to be a very common practice in Belgian maternity wards. This approach is not only unlawful, it is also in conflict with the EU Treaty (regarding distortion of competition), as well as going directly against the central aim of the WHO code, which is to promote breast feeding in the interest of public health.

Does the Council acknowledge that this approach by the producers of and traders in baby formulae conflicts with the EC Treaty and leads to a distortion of competition between the various maternity hospitals, manufacturers and traders? If so, what measures does the Council propose to take to deal with this distortion of competition? If not, what are the Council's arguments for regarding the free distribution of baby formulae by manufacturers and traders in maternity hospitals as compatible with the EC Treaty in spite of the distortion of competition which it creates between the various maternity hospitals, manufacturers and traders?

(1) OJ L 175, 4.7.1991, p. 35.

Reply

(27 September 2001)

It is the role of the Commission, and not the Council, to monitor the implementation of Community legislation and to take appropriate action where such legislation may have been incorrectly or incompletely transposed into national legislation.

The Council can therefore take no position on the question raised, since it is a matter which falls under the competence of the Commission.