Negotiators from the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission wrapped up their second round of negotiations (trilogue) on Thursday 30 June with progress on the proposed 2020 regulation on batteries and battery waste, but without concluding.
The matter was heard (see EUROPE 12982/13). This second ‘trilogue’ was held on Thursday morning, on the last day of the French Presidency of the Council, which is therefore handing the baton on to the Czech Presidency on this complex dossier, very representative of the circular economy.
“Our ‘Batteries’ regulation is urgent for the security of raw materials and energy supply”, stressed EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius on his Twitter account. Reporting “good progress”, he added: “We are determined to keep the pace [...] aiming for an agreement in the second half of the year”.
Proposed in December 2020 under the German Presidency (see EUROPE 12620/13), this regulation aims to improve the sustainability of batteries throughout their life cycle - from the extraction of raw materials to their reuse at end of life - in the interest of the environment and health, and to create a European battery industry to foster the EU’s strategic autonomy.
The negotiations on Thursday focused on two chapters of a thirteen-chapter regulation - Chapter I (provisions, objectives, definitions) and Chapter II on sustainability and safety requirements, as well as on Articles 6 to 12.
Positions have converged on various aspects of Articles 6 to 11, but no firm agreement has been reached at this stage.
“We have made progress, but there is still a lot of work to do”, confirmed another source close to the case.
The Council of the EU adopted its negotiating position on 17 March (see EUROPE 12913/13), it was much less ambitious than the one adopted by the Parliament a week earlier (see EUROPE 12908/12). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)