The European Commission is taking legal action against several Member States for failing to comply with EU law, from incorrect waste sorting labelling in France to reusable and recyclable materials ending up in landfill in Hungary.
Allegedly, France has infringed Articles 34-36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union by failing to address the shortcomings of its labelling requirements regarding waste sorting instructions. On the French market, products held to an extended producer responsibility scheme (EPR) must display the ‘Triman logo’ indicating its recyclability; signage indicating that the product is subject to sorting rules; and the ‘infotri’, which specifies the correct sorting methods.
At present, there are no harmonized EU rules in place concerning waste sorting instructions for consumers. Yet the incoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation will set out such rules, and the Commission argues that current national labelling requirements are a ‘major internal market barrier’ that ‘seriously undermin[e] the free movement of goods’.
The French authorities have not provided sufficient evidence that their policy is proportionate compared to ‘other less restrictive options’, the Commission says. It also states that the law in question was not notified to the Commission before it was adopted, which goes against the Single Market Transparency Directive.
As such, France has been issued with a reasoned opinion. The country has two months to respond and take the necessary measures, or else the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Regarding the move, EUROPEN shared a LinkedIn post stating: ”The EU Commission just issued a reasoned opinion on the French Triman Decree, formally requesting French authorities to ensure that its labelling requirements for waste sorting comply with the principle of free movement of goods.
”EUROPEN commends the EU Commission’s decision as it sends a strong signal to all EU Member States that the scrupulous application of EU law and the Single Market principles is non-negotiable, and all European Member States should be called on respecting the obligations set out in the Treaties.”
Meanwhile, Greece is believed to have violated the Waste Framework Directive by failing to report on its preparation for the reuse and recycling of waste materials. It is apparently the only Member State that has not reported on this data for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.
At the same time, Hungary is among several nations accused of failing to ensure that waste that is separately collected for reuse and recycling does not end up in landfill – and in doing so, falling short of the requirements laid out in the Landfill Directive.
As such, an infringement procedure has been opened and a letter of formal notice delivered. Both Greece and Hungary now have two months to respond, and failure to do so may lead the Commission to issue a reasoned opinion.
More reasoned opinions have been sent to Ireland, Spain, France, and Hungary for their incomplete transposition of EU rules on renewable energy as per Directive (EU) 2018/2001. The Directive sets an EU-wide binding target to transition into renewable energy by 2030.
Furthermore, it sets out rules surrounding guarantees of origin (GOs), or electronic certificates informing final customers of the share of energy from renewable sources in a supplier’s energy mix. Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria are also set out for biofuels, bioliquids, and biomass fuels, as well as rules on the verification of compliance of these fuels against the Directive’s criteria.
Member States were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 30th June 2021. Letters of formal notice were delivered to the nations in question for failing to fully transpose the Directive, followed by further reasoned opinions for Ireland, Spain, and France and Hungary’s referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Now the Commission is issuing additional reasoned opinions to all four Member States. It highlights to transposition gaps on GOs for energy from renewable sources, as well as concerns around sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels, bioliquids, and biomass fuels.
The countries have two months to make changes and notify the Commission that the Directive has been completely transposed. Failure to do so may escalate the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Additionally, letters of formal notice have been delivered to Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Slovakia to ‘urgently’ submit their final updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) as per the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action.
NECPs ensure that concrete roadmaps are set out to achieve agreed EU goals for gas emissions reduction, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and more. They also highlight Member States’ collective progress ‘in terms of ambition towards the EU 2030 climate and energy targets’.
All Member States were required to submit their final updated NECPs by 30th June 2024 under Article 14(2) of the Governance Regulation. After the submission of draft Plans and the adoption of Commission recommendations, the thirteen countries in question have not submitted their final plans.
If the countries do not respond to the Commission within two months, a reasoned opinion may be issued.
The Commission hopes these decisions will ‘ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses’. At the same time, 47 existing cases concerning Member States have been closed with no need to pursue the procedure further.
These legal developments come after the Commission warned in a previous report that eighteen Member States could miss the EU’s 2025 reuse and recycling targets and/or 2035 landfilling targets. At the time, only Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Slovenia were anticipated to meet both goals.
Earlier this year, all 27 Member States were subject to an infringement procedure for missing legally binding collection and recycling targets. These included the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive’s recycling target of 55-80% by the end of 2008.
The Court of Justice of the European Union also maintained its ban on oxo-degradable plastics back in February, dismissing a lawsuit from Symphony Environmental alleging that the ban was unjustified as per the European Chemicals Agency and ignored safeguards against arbitrary legislation provided by Arts. 69-73 of REACH.
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