European Commission sued: A summary
- The European Commission has been taken to court by organisations Foodwatch International and Access Info
- The case is around its refusal to disclose documents pertaining to plans for mandatory front-of-pack labelling
- The plans have now been shelved
- The case was filed last week at the EU General Court
- It was previously taken to the European Ombudsman, who said the Commission was guilty of maladministration
The European Commission is being taken to court by the organisations Foodwatch International and Access Info over its refusal to disclose plans for its now-shelved mandatory front-of-pack labelling scheme in Europe.
Shelved plans of mandatory rollout
As part of 2020’s Farm to Fork Strategy, the EU had planned to implement a mandatory front-of-pack labelling scheme across the entirety of the EU.
Furthermore, plans were made to include compulsory indications for ingredients lists and nutrition declaration for alcoholic beverages.
Lastly, the EU planned to change the rules on date marking (such as ‘best-before’) to be revised.
However, earlier this year the European Commission declined to commit to rolling out Nutri-Score, the preferred choice of front-of-pack labelling for many member states.
Case against the Commission
In August and September 2023, the organisation Foodwatch International requested access to relevant documents around front-of-pack labelling plans.
The Commission identified several relevant documents, but refused to disclose them. These included an opinion by the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) on its draft report for the labelling rollout, a draft impact assessment, and minutes of related meetings.
The Commission stated that its refusal to disclose the documents was due to its desire to avoid external pressure.
The case was then taken to the European Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, under the argument that the disclosure of such information was of external interest.
The Ombudsman then examined the documents requested, deciding that the Commission did not have adequate reason to withhold the information, and that doing so constitutes maladministration.
She stressed that the Commission is required to have high standards of transparency and suggested that the reason given for the lack of disclosure was not good enough.
The case is now being taken to the EU General Court.
Case taken to the General Court
Foodwatch and Access Info, another organisation, have now taken the case to the EU General Court, reports Euronews. The aim of the case is to overturn its refusal to disclose the documents.
Access Info took the case to the General Court following the Ombudsman’s judgement, and was soon joined by Foodwatch. The case was filed last week.
Suzy Sumner, head of Foodwatch’s Brussels office, questioned why information about the scheme’s shelving had not been released.
“Why has the EU Commission silently buried its plan to present a Europe-wide nutrition label as planned in the Farm to Fork strategy?”
The European Commission has been contacted for comment.
