The progress made on revision of the waste directives in the circular economy package was briefly discussed by EU environment ministers in Brussels on Monday 19 December at the last Environment Council to be chaired by Slovakia (see EUROPE 11692).
The outgoing Presidency gave a status report on this central plank of the action plan adopted in December 2015 to promote sustainable economic growth, job creation and European competitiveness by shifting from a linear to a genuinely circular economy (see EUROPE 11444).
Discussions will continue on the most contentious issues: the general level of ambition, binding targets, exemptions, and how to take account of re-usage efforts.
While stating that the waste recycling targets proposed by the Commission are “ambitious but realistic”, European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella conceded to ministers that the Commission would be prepared “potentially to give member states more time for implementation”. He emphasised that it was important to have harmonised rules for calculating recycling and reuse, so that efforts could be compared.
“In 2017, there will be much to do on the circular economy”, he told the press on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting. He added: “On 25 January, the Commission will present a mini package covering 20 of the 54 action points in the plan”.
European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen recently announced to MEPs a Commission report on implementation of the action plan and a new initiative on converting waste into energy (see EUROPE 11665).
In the Parliament, rapporteur Simona Bonafe (S&D, Italy) has raised waste recycling targets, in line with the vote by MEPs on the previous European Commission’s circular economy package (see EUROPE 11573). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)