Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, assisted by the European Commission, will resume on Tuesday 31 May on the proposal for a regulation to tighten concentration limits for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in waste (amendment of Annexes IV and V of Regulation (EU) 2019/102 on POPs, which transposes the Stockholm International Convention).
The EU27 ambassadors to the EU (Coreper), meeting on Wednesday 25 May in Brussels, gave the EU Council Presidency a mandate to negotiate with some flexibility towards the Parliament in this second ‘trilogue’.
“There is a will to reach a solution at the third trilogue in June. The idea is to make progress on all matters”, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday.
However, it is possible that the most important differences, especially concerning the limit values for dioxins/furans and PBDEs - where the Parliament, led by Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe, Slovakia), is much more ambitious than the European Commission and, a fortiori, the EU Council (see EUROPE 12944/8, 12909/14) - will be dealt with at the end of the negotiations.
The third trilogue will take place after the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, which starts at ministerial level on 1 June. The outcome of international negotiations on the addition of perfluorohexanesulfonic acid to the list of substances to be phased out - an addition requested by the Parliament in anticipation of this COP10 - will facilitate an agreement. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)