Negotiators in the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, assisted by the European Commission, have not concluded their work to try to reach agreement on the proposal for a directive to limit the consumption in the EU of single-use plastic products that pollute the oceans.
However, the Austrian Presidency is doing its utmost to promote progress at the technical level as soon as possible, before the third trilogue negotiation meeting on Tuesday 18 December.
The second trilogue held on 28 November was not enough to resolve the differences of opinion between Parliament's high ambition and the more modest one of the Council, which is not ready to accept the amendments made to the Commission's initial proposal (see EUROPE 12130, 12124).
“The atmosphere was good and constructive during the trilogue, we are moving in the right direction, but everyone is aware that there is still a lot of work to be done to reach an agreement on all the issues on the table,” a source told EUROPE on Monday 3 December.
The Council is tempted to weaken the extended producer responsibility regime, is reluctant to accept the obligation that would be imposed on bottle manufacturers to attach the cork to the bottle and some Member States, such as Poland, have difficulties with recycling obligations as they do not have all the necessary infrastructure.
"Many technical meetings will be held before the 3rd trilogue to maximise the chances of reaching an agreement again in December," the source said.
A technical meeting within the Council's Environment Working Group took place on Friday 30 November, another on Monday 3 December. The next one is scheduled for Friday 7 December. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)