(STRASBOURG) - A European Commissioner and Italian minister led calls on Wednesday for the European Union to introduce obligatory "Made in..." labels for some products imported into the bloc.

Italy's International Trade Minister Emma Bonino and EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva watched at several members of the European parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, created a "MADE IN" sign, with help of China-made umbrellas, in the parliament's hallway.

Such a mark of origin "is essential for traceability," of imported goods, said Kuneva, adding "the ball is in the (EU) member states' court".

The European Union at present has no joint position on marks of origin, which do exist in some member states.

In 2005 the European Commission presented a proposal to introduce such a system for some imports, as is done in Japan, China and the United States.

That plan, targetted especially at clothes, shoes and jewelry, has remained a dead letter due to opposition, including Britain and Germany.

France, Italy and Poland were among the member states in favour of the move.

Bonino recognised that sufficient support was not there yet, with opponents apparently concerned at "the bureaucratic obstacles and the costs," involved.

"But it seems to work well in the United States and Japan," she said, adding that a 'made in' label would bring the EU up to the level of its main trading partners.

A petition circulation around the parliament, calling for the measure to be adopted without delay had been signed by 170 of the 785 MEPs on Wednesday.

"The 500 million European consumers need transparency" said one of those behind the petition, Joseph Daul, head of the main political grouping in the parliament, the conservative European People's Party.

Questions have also been raised recently about the efficacy of the EU's 'CE' label on goods.

Some argue that this must be given effective regulatory weight as many consumers believe it is a guarantee of the safety and quality of a product.

Such concerns have been heightened by the recent recall by US toymaker Mattel of millions of China-made toys found to be unsafe.

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