Brussels, 24/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - In the interest of its future economic growth and the environment, the EU has no other choice but to improve the use of its resources and to recycle valuable materials rather than burying or incinerating them. The EU should also develop a tax system that penalises the wasteful use of resources, explains the European Parliament in a resolution adopted by a large majority (479 for, 66 against, with 63 abstentions) on Thursday 24 May in Strasbourg.
In doing this, MEPs have given their backing to the robust measures advocated by their rapporteur Gerban-Jan Gerbrandy (ALDE, Netherlands) to inject a greater sense of urgency into the roadmap towards an efficient Europe in the use of resources, especially as regards the adaptation of companies to society's needs in 2050, the development of the recycling market, the updating of clear indicators (to measure resource use) and the integration of concerns linked to the efficiency of resources in the common agricultural policy (see EUROPE 10604 and 10602).
At the end of the vote, the rapporteur said: “The European Parliament and the European Commission have laid down ambitious plans. It is now up to the member states to pick up the gauntlet and fight for resource efficiency. Implementation of my report would mean economic growth, creation of jobs and protection of the environment. What are we waiting for?”
The resolution calls for a gradual phase-out of landfill of waste and calls on the Commission to make proposals to that effect by the end of 2014. The Commission should also revise the 2020 recycling targets set in the Waste Framework Directive and ensure, by the end of the decade, that there is no incineration of waste that could be recycled or composted.
Convinced that industry and European citizens have everything to gain from better product design, MEPs call on the Commission to propose an update to the eco-design directive to include non-energy related products and to demand better durability, recyclability and reparability of goods. MEPs also consider that clearer labelling for consumers with advice on resource use and environmental products would be useful.
They call on the Commission to create task forces to develop European resource efficiency action plans in the food, drinks, housing and transport sectors.
MEPs urge member states to shift immediately towards environmental taxation, which should allow cuts in other taxes, such as those on labour. Incentives, such as reduced VAT on certain secondary materials, could also help to correct market failures and promote innovation. Nonetheless, the idea of a tax on natural resources is not to the liking of certain MEPs, who find it inopportune in this period of economic crisis.
Repeating a demand that has been formulated on several different occasions, MEPs again call on the Commission and member states to come forward with plans to eliminate environmentally-harmful subsidies by 2020. The public sector can play a further part by tightening rules on “green public procurement”, say MEPs, who call on the Commission to look into applying such environmentally-friendly conditions on EU-funded projects. (AN/LG/transl.fl)