BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsbeslutningen)

(1) Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle. Specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established for each product group. 

(2) By Commission Decision (EU) 2017/175, EU Ecolabel criteria were established for the product group ‘tourist accommodation’. The validity of those criteria and of the related assessment and verification requirements is to expire on 30 June 2025. 

(3) By Commission Decision (EU) 2018/1702, EU Ecolabel criteria were established for the product group ‘lubricants’. The validity of those criteria and of the related assessment and verification requirements is to expire on 31 December 2024. 

(4) By Commission Decision (EU) 2019/70, EU Ecolabel criteria were established for the product groups ‘graphic paper’ and ‘tissue paper and tissue products’. The validity of those criteria and of the related assessment and verification requirements is to expire on 31 December 2024. 

(5) In line with the findings from the EU Ecolabel Fitness check (REFIT) of June 30, 2017, the Commission, together with the EU Ecolabelling Board, assessed and confirmed the relevance of the EU Ecolabel criteria for the above-mentioned product groups for the EU Ecolabel scheme, implementing solutions to enhance synergies among product groups and to increase the uptake of the EU Ecolabel. 

(6) The above-mentioned considerations revealed that, for the lubricants, graphic paper, tissue paper and tissue products product groups, the criteria were considered still up to date and likely to remain so in the near future. Consequently, revisions for the above mentioned criteria should be deferred, enabling integration of evolving sectoral legislation and ensuring alignment and coherence with other ongoing EU product policies. For the tourist accommodation product group, a revision will be needed in order to update the criteria and to ensure coherence with the upcoming EU initiatives on sustainable tourism. Until then, the criteria should remain valid. 

(7) To facilitate the Commission’s coordination of the revision process alongside upcoming legislative initiatives, and to consolidate efforts wherever feasible, it is advisable to extend the validity of the EU Ecolabel criteria outlined in Decisions (EU) 2017/175, (EU) 2018/1702, and (EU) 2019/70. 

(8) To allow sufficient time to finalise the revision processes and to ensure market continuity to licence holders between the current and revised versions of the criteria, the period of validity of the current criteria and of the related assessment and verification requirements should be extended until 31 December 2027 for the tourist accommodation product group, and until 31 December 2028 for the lubricants, graphic paper, tissue paper and tissue products product groups. 

(9) Decisions (EU) 2017/175, (EU) 2018/1702 and (EU) 2019/70 should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,