The EU Ombudsman has criticised the Commission for failing to make Germany comply with the judgement of the EU Court of Justice that its deposit & return system for non-reusable drinks packaging constitutes a barrier to intra-Community trade. In July/02, the German authorities announced that from 1/1/03, a deposit & return system would become obligatory for non-reusable packaging for mineral water, beer & soft drinks. The Court of Justice held that this new system constituted a barrier to intra-Community trade since producers & distributors had not been given enough time to adapt to the new rules. While criticising the Commission for not enforcing this ruling on Germany, the Ombudsman noted a second infringement procedure concerning the German Regulation is still ongoing, giving the Commission an opportunity to rectify its earlier failure to act.
