ANPC head: The real double standard is lopsided approach against marketing of Romanian products in EU

The real double European standard resides in the fact that Romania doesn't have the same chance as other EU countries to put Romanian goods in the EU market, the newly appointed president of the National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC), Horia Constantinescu, said on Friday. "There is a double approach, I will tell you how I see the double standard. The double standard doesn't necessarily refer to products with different characteristics but similar labels, or vice versa. We've conducted an action with regard to imported fish and I can tell you that until June 10, the Romanian fisherman did not have the opportunity to market his captured or processed products, because of certain European regulations that date from 1974, and then let me ask you if this is not double standard. At this point we must remove this type of double standard, that of having a different approach for Romanian products bound for the European market," said the ANPC head, who criticised the existence in some EU countries of a double standard in legislation, which offers for instance Italian fish exporters a loophole to produce "lamentable" test reports for the exported goods. "The double standard refers not just to labeling, but also to the approach, the legislative one included," said Constantinescu, who gave the example of the fish freshness term, which is 48 hours for Romanian fish, but can be no less than 21 days for fish imported from Italy. "This is obviously about food test reports we consider to be lamentable at this moment," said Constantinescu. He added that he has found out that the respective European producers cannot resort to such practices in their own country and that Romania must send the EU a very strong message about the double food standard, because Romania is regarded as one of the Cinderellas of Europe. "I will request meetings with the heads of the peer authorities in other European countries, I think we must have the same type of approach, we are ready to show them that the authorities of these countries have missed many elements in the European market and we must recover the lost time. (...) I think we need a more comprehensive regulation, not just a brief and trifling report, as I consider the European Commission's document to be," said Horia Constantinescu.AGERPRES(RO - author: George Coman; editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Simona Klodnsichi, editor: Maria Voican)