The original proposal applied solely to white goods and required that this info be communicated through point-of-sale and company websites.
However at committee stage two amendments were accepted which widened the directive to cover advertising and anything defined as an energy consuming products. These have yet to be clarified but could include TVs, mobile phones and household goods such as detergents.
ISBA director of public affairs Ian Twinn said that ‘every effort' was made to ensure that MEPs understood the consequences of their vote.
‘The European Parliament has shown that it is not interested in the facts but more interested in making expensive gestures at the expense of a healthy EU media market and competitive business,' he said.
The European Newspaper Publishers Association (ENPA) and the European Federation of Magazine Publishers (FAEP) called the development ‘severe and worrying'.
‘ENPA and FAEP are very disappointed that MEPs have decided to accept an additional requirement for product information to be included in advertisements, contrary to the original proposal of the Commission.,' said directors Valtteri Niiranen (ENPA) and David Mahon (FAEP).
‘The existing system of informing citizens at points of sale or on the websites of retailers or producers has worked well thus far. MEPs have simply failed to see or consider the harmful effect of this additional requirement to the advertising revenues of print and online newspapers and magazines,' they added.
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