The European Parliament has approved a new set of...

The European Parliament has approved a new set of proposals on consumer safety and protection that include the obligation to put a label of origin on shoes and on all other kinds of products sold within the European Union except foods and drugs. The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) had opposed this measure. Officials of the Italian shoe and apparel industry association felt that the European Council will necessarily have to take the parliament's strong statement into account when it will finally vote on the new regulations, probably not before September. No less than 485 of the 766 members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the new measures, including socialist members from Austria and Germany, two countries whose industry and government have been consistently opposed to the introduction of the “made in” label. Only 130 voted against and 27 abstained. A German proposal to take out the article on labels of origin from the legislative package was rejected by the majority of the members.