The environment ministers of the EU-27, who will meet on Thursday 18 March by videoconference, will hold a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation on sustainable batteries, which was presented in December in order to achieve the objective of climate neutrality by 2050, and to boost the European battery sector (see EUROPE 12620/13).
As the first piece of legislation in the new circular economy action plan, this proposal – which is based on a life-cycle approach – is close to the heart of Portugal’s Environment Minister, Inês dos Santos Costa, who is also President-in-Office of the Environment Council. She hopes that it will serve as the foundation for all future EU legislation (see EUROPE 12670/22).
Legal basis. Ministers will be asked to make a decision regarding the legal basis of this future regulation, which is solely based on Article 114 TFEU (internal market).
The legislation it is called upon to amend is Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries, accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, which has a dual legal basis: Article 114 and Article 192 (Environment) of the TFEU.
If the legal basis of the internal market is required to harmonise rules across the EU, ministers will make known their views given the strong implications of the future regulation on all waste legislation.
Due diligence and sustainability requirements. Ministers will also be invited to exchange views on due diligence in relation to carbon footprints, recycled content and human rights, as well as on safety and sustainability requirements.
“This proposal for a regulation perfectly reflects all of our priorities. It contains all the dimensions of the Green Deal, and it will come down to a political debate to provide initial political guidance. We hope to have a general approach in place in June, but there is still a lot of work to be done”, stressed Telma Branco – Environment Attaché of the Portuguese Permanent Representation to the EU – as part of a webinar on batteries on 11 March. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)