Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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Approximation of laws ° Labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs ° Directive 79/112 ° Obligation of the Member States to prohibit sale of products displaying no information in a language easily understood by the purchaser ° Scope ° Rules going beyond that obligation ° Not permissible ° Need for all compulsory particulars to appear on the labelling

(EC Treaty, Arts 30, 128 and 129a; Council Directive 79/112, Art. 14)

Summary

Article 14 of Directive 79/112 relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, which requires Member States to prohibit sale of those products within their territories if certain particulars "do not appear in a language easily understood by purchasers, unless other measures have been taken to ensure that the purchaser is informed", must be interpreted as meaning that the expression "language easily understood", which is designed to ensure that the consumer is provided with information rather than to impose the use of a specific language, is not equivalent to "the official language of the Member State" or "the language of the region". Since it is stricter than the obligation to use a language easily understood, an obligation imposed by a Member State to use the dominant language of the region in which the product is placed on the market is, even if the use of other languages at the same time is not precluded, incompatible with Article 14 and cannot be justified under Articles 128 and 129a of the Treaty which do not authorize a Member State to substitute a more stringent rule for that laid down in the directive. Hence there is no need to examine the question in the context of Article 30 of the Treaty.

In order to satisfy the need to inform and protect consumers, it is necessary for them always to have access to the compulsory particulars specified in the directive, not only at the time of purchase, but also at that of consumption. That implies that the compulsory particulars must appear on the labelling in a language easily understood by consumers in the State or region concerned or by means of other measures such as designs, symbols or pictograms. It is for the national court to assess the ease with which the information supplied can be understood in the light of all the circumstances in each individual case.