site.btaBulgarian MEPs Urge European Commission to Take Measures against Double Standards for Foods

Brussels/Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - Two Bulgarian members of the European Parliament insist that the European Commission (EC) should take measures to do away with double standards for food products in the EU member states, Bulgaria's ruling GERB party said in a press release. Emil Radev and Andrey Novakov (EPP) have sent a query to the EC, asking whether legislative measures will be taken to eliminate double standards affecting the quality and the content of same-brand foods sold in different member states. Noting that the question has been raised repeatedly for 10 years now, Radev and Novakov ask the EC to set a timeframe for the desired legislative changes.

The two also urge the EC to work out guidelines to international food companies to ensure that all consumers in the EU are treated equally. They suggest that the Commission should conduct a large-scale study on double standards not only for foods but also for other products, such as cosmetic and cleaning products.

On more than one occasion, countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, have expressed their concern, supported by test results, that there are differences in the ingredients and the quality of food products of international companies sold under the same brand in the "old" and the "new" EU member states. According to Radev and Novakov, this is unacceptable within the European single market. "Consumers across the EU have the right to use products of identical quality and content if they are marketed under the same brand and the same name," the two MEPs wrote in their query.