The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive

aimed at introducing clearer and simpler rules on indicating unit

prices of all products on sale in retail outlets. The Directive

provides that all traders, with the exception of small retailers

who have been granted a derogation of four years, should clearly

indicate the selling price and also the unit price of each

product. The consumer will thus be better informed about the unit

price of the product he is buying and be able to compare

different products in order to make the best choice.

"Our twofold aim is transparency and simplification", said

Commission member Emma Bonino, "transparency because the consumer

should have precise points of reference for comparing products,

and simplification because the system provided for under previous

directives proved to be too complicated to be implemented

properly. The system provided for in our proposal for a Directive

breaks the link between packaging ranges and indicating the unit

prices of products. I believe that unit price is the simplest and

most effective means of informing the consumer".

With this Directive, the Commission has sent a clear and

tangible signal to the European consumer, which finds expression

in the aim of attaining a high level of protection for consumers

in Europe, as enshrined in the Treaty of Maastricht.

* * * * *

BACKGROUND

The system in place.

The displaying of selling prices of products offered for sale

to consumers is regulated in Council Directive 79/581/EEC of 19

June 1979, as amended by Council Directive 88/315/EEC of 7 June

1988 with respect to foodstuffs and by Council Directive

88/314/EEC of 7 June 1988 with respect to non-food products. The

system provided for under these Directives stipulated a

transitional period of seven years, and their implementation had

to be put back a further two years because of the complexities

involved in introducing the system.

The Directives are complex because they provide for a general

obligation to indicate unit prices for prepacked products in pre-

established quantities, while at the same time also providing for

exceptions - sometimes compulsory and sometimes optional - for

predetermined ranges of products.

The reasons for the review. The Treaty on European Union

introduced a new Article, 129a, which provides for the attainment

of a high level of protection for consumers, particularly as

regards their being properly informed. The Directive is the first

to be adopted on this new legal basis. At its meeting on 5 April

1993, the Consumer Affairs Council called on the Commission to

look at ways of simplifying the system.

The new Directive.

The Directive provides for the indication of both the selling

price and unit price of products offered for sale by traders to

the final consumer. The scope of the directive is the same of the

previous ones.

The selling price and unit price must be unambiguous, easily

identifiable and clealry legible. They should relate to the final

price of the product concerned under the conditions stipulated by

the Member States, and make reference to the declared quantity in

accordance with statutory provisions at national and Community

level.

The Commission leaves to the Member states the possibility of

fixing the conditions for the indication of prices, especially

with regard to prices applying to products generally and

customarily used in specific quantities. Based on the principle

of subsidiarity, the Member States may grant exemptions from the

obligation to display the unit price in the case of products for

which this would not be appropriate because of their nature or

intended use, and products with respect to which an indication of

the unit price would not provide adequate information to the

consumer or would be likely to lead to confusion. As regards non-

food products, the Member States may draw up a list of products

indicating categories for which the obligation to indicate the

unit price applies.

The Member States will have to transpose the Directive into

their domestic legal orders by 6 June 1997. For its part, the

Commission will have to present an initial report on the

implementation of the Directive to the Parliament and the Council

within two years following this date, and a general report within

four years. In the initial report, consideration will also be

given to the effects of the Directive on small retailers so as to

accommodate their needs.