On Thursday 10 June, the EU Environment Ministers took note of the progress report presented by the Portuguese Minister, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, on the draft EU regulation on batteries and battery waste - a complex dossier that will require further discussion throughout June before the Slovenian Presidency takes over.
This report reflects the discussions that have progressed on Chapters II and VII of a regulation that is “essential for the electricity and mobility sectors”, Matos Fernandes stressed.
The questions still open are: - the legal basis; - sustainability and safety requirements; - link with EU ‘waste’ legislation, including collection targets; - due diligence.
The delegations reiterated the positions they had expressed in March (see EUROPE 12681/5).
All were in favour of a dual legal basis (Internal Market AND Environment) and looked forward to the opinion of the EU Council’s Legal Service. Many delegations insisted that the problem of hazardous substances in batteries should be dealt with under the REACH regulation rather than in a separate procedure.
All Ministers thanked the Portuguese Presidency for the enormous amount of work done.
Slovenian Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak said his country’s efforts at the helm of the EU Council would be aimed at “finding solutions on the legal basis, the level of ambition and the flexibility given to Member States regarding producer responsibility”.
EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius stressed that the ‘internal market’ legal basis offers “the guarantee of efficiency and predictability”.
A report from the Joint Research Centre on the possibility of collection targets for batteries from light-duty vehicles is expected at the end of the summer. The Commission hopes that the EU Council will be able to adopt its position at the end of the year so that negotiations with the Parliament can be concluded in the first half of 2022. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)