Luxembourg, 14/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU rules on the transfer of waste are failing to reduce the number of illegal exports of dangerous waste to developing countries, explained EU28 environment ministers after a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 14 October. They therefore want inspections on illegal waste to be stepped up and inspection plans to be introduced in the member states to prevent the illegal shipping of waste materials dangerous to the environment or human health. Virtually all the ministers, however, refused to allow the European Commission to lay down what exactly the plans should contain. The Slovakian delegation was the only one to welcome the detailed inspection plan idea, but Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain said it would be counter-productive to force publication of the plans because fraudsters would use this to work out ways of getting round the EU rules.
The discussion in Luxembourg was the first by the Environment Council on the draft amendment published by the European Commission in July to Regulation 1013/2006 on the transfer of waste within and outside the EU to harmonise and improve inspections across the member states. The ministers were asked by the Lithuanian Presidency to decide on the scope of the draft regulation, whether it struck a good balance between the need to ensure competitive conditions and the need to allow member states flexibility because some of them already have highly effective inspection systems. Most of the delegations said the scope was suitable and meshed well with existing legislation. The British minister was the only one who felt that the objective was being ignored because inspections do not raise standards.
Valentinas Mazuronis, the Lithuanian minister chairing the meeting, thanked the delegations for their useful guidelines and told them that their proposals would be used by the Presidency in its future work. On behalf of the European Commission, Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik pointed out that 25% of the transfers of waste from the EU contained illegal waste products and although he had nothing against subsidiarity, the way the system is organised at present is clearly not working. He said that publication of the inspection plan was the most controversial aspect, but the Commission believes publication could give the public greater confidence in the authorities. He said that further work would be needed to provide the further details requested by a number of delegations.
During the debate, the Dutch minister wanted the scope of the legislation to be expanded and adjusted to put an end to different interpretations, particularly for the classification of substances used to decide whether or not they can be exported.
Italy favours the draft amendments, pointing out that it already has a tight inspection system and electronic tracing system for hazardous waste. France said it backed the proposal and called for a balance to be struck between harmonisation and flexibility on a case-by-case basis because flexibility is needed to enable everyone to implement the regulation in their different situations. Latvia is sceptical about the compulsory nature of the inspection plans because it does not have huge inspection capacities.
Sweden, Germany and Spain, which say that the inspection plans are too detailed, wants guidelines instead. Spain and the United Kingdom said that imposing a certain number of inspections ran contrary to the principle of subsidiarity. The British minister called for it to be made compulsory for inspections to be planned but without laying down exactly what should be done. Slovakia expressed doubt about the idea of delegating responsibility, which would reduce member states' independence.
A number of delegations were worried about excess red tape (particularly Latvia, Slovenia and Cyprus). The Cypriot minister called for a practical, effective tool without bureaucracy, red tape and extra costs.
Many ministers called for regular reports on the results of the inspections and measures taken rather than publishing inspection plans as such (Spain, Malta, Romania, the United Kingdom, Slovakia and Greece). Slovenia called for an overview of the inspection plans to be published. Estonia was the only country that thought it was important for the inspection plans to be published. The reversal of the burden of proof for illegal waste exports was welcomed by France, Germany and Ireland. (AN/transl.fl)