The European Commission has been accused of failing to defend “the core principles” of the EU, after giving France the green light for a two-year trial of mandatory country-of-origin labelling for meat and dairy ingredients used in processed food sold in the country. 

The European Dairy Association (EDA) said the Commission’s approval on 5 July of a draft decree on the labelling by France “clearly failed to protect the single market principle, which is from a political point of view a worst case scenario” for the EU.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

EDA secretary general Alexander Anton said: “We have seen the French proposal going viral across Europe – the Italian government has already notified a draft decree and others will certainly follow the French example. This translates as the end of the single market principle for milk and dairy products.”

Anton said: “We are proud of the many dairies in border regions, most of which are rather small companies that have up to five EU member states in their milk collection area. They lived from the single market in producing high quality milk and dairy with milk from their geographical region, even if national borders go through their milk collection area. This will now be made very complicated, if not impossible.”

In March, the European Commission agreed in principle to France’s proposals. The measure was seen as a means of supporting French agriculture and promoting ‘made in France’ products, as well as addressing food safety issues in the wake of the so-called ‘horsegate’ scandal in parts of Europe in 2013.

See Also:

FoodDrinkEurope claimed France’s plans would push up prices for consumers, reduce choice and could increase waste.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.