EU Member States have made good progress on the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU, the so-called ‘IED’ Directive), proposed in April 2022, but further discussions will be needed, particularly on the issue of livestock unit thresholds - the thorniest one, initially a major concern for both EU Agriculture and Environment Ministers (see EUROPE 13049/3).
On the basis of a Swedish Presidency compromise, the discussion between the EU27 ambassadors to the EU on Friday 3 March showed that there is broad support for a phased approach and the exclusion of the intensive livestock sector.
Most delegations are in favour of excluding intensive livestock farming, but there is no agreement yet on the details, a diplomatic source said on Friday, assuring that “in general, the exchange has been very constructive. All want to move forward”. At this stage, the level of the thresholds and the figures are not agreed between the Member States.
In addition, there is a need to agree on the definition of intensive livestock farming, whether a differentiated approach should be adopted for different animals, and whether intensive fodder farming should be included on organic farms, depending on whether the fodder is to be fed to the animals on the farm.
On these two points, as well as on sanctions - an aspect of the proposal that was not discussed on Friday - discussions will continue at technical level in the Council's Environment Working Group. In addition, some delegations indicated that they had special requests for derogations for islands and isolated territories.
A new compromise proposal is expected to be presented to Coreper on 8 March. The aim is to enable the Environment Ministers to reach a political agreement (a ‘general approach’) at the Environment Council on 16 March, as the Swedish Presidency intends (see EUROPE 13093/7). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)