The revision of the EU’s industrial emissions directive will be a focus of the Swedish Presidency, which hopes to establish the EU Council’s negotiating position at the meeting of the EU Member States’ environment and climate ministers on Thursday 16 March in Brussels. This is the only formal decision expected by the Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari, who will chair the ministerial meeting. The rest of the session will be devoted to policy discussions to facilitate further work on the future certification framework for carbon removals, the reuse of packaging to prevent waste and the modernisation of wastewater treatment legislation.
Industrial Emissions Directive. The EU Council will endeavour to reach a common position (a general approach) on the proposal to extend the scope of the Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU (IED) to more installations, including large intensive livestock farms, and to amend Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste (see EUROPE 12926/2).
After a year of tough negotiations between Member States on a text that had already been discussed at the Environment Council in October 2022 (see EUROPE 13049/3), the Swedish Presidency has reached a compromise that is considered to be balanced in that it guarantees environmental protection and a level playing field, while limiting the bureaucratic burden on industry, which is a concern of this Presidency (see EUROPE 13107/6).
However, some delegations have yet to finalise their position, notably on the livestock unit (LSU) thresholds that the future directive would apply in stages (see EUROPE 13139/14). Instead of the 150-unit threshold proposed by the Commission, the compromise text to be submitted to the ministers provides for 350 LSU for cattle and pigs, 280 for poultry and 350 for mixed farms. See the compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/5t3
“At these levels, the directive would cover large farms, with small operators excluded. Some people think that these thresholds are not restrictive enough, others would like higher figures. It remains to be seen whether a majority can be found”, a senior European official said on Tuesday 14 March. If there are difficulties, it is possible that ministers will return to the issue later in the session.
Carbon removal certification framework. Ministers will have a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation establishing an EU certification framework for carbon removals (see EUROPE 13074/9). This text, which was adopted by the Commission on 30 November 2022, aims to promote the development of mechanisms to facilitate high-quality carbon removals within the EU. It is a monitoring, reporting and verification tool to help integrate carbon removals into EU climate policy. The debate will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by this proposal.
Clarification should be provided on its major elements, such as definitions, the process to be used to establish reference levels and specific means of certification. Discussions will also focus on the criteria for this certification and the functioning of the related systems. In particular, the relationship between the proposed framework and existing national systems with similar objectives will be discussed, as will the need to take into account national specificities regarding carbon-based agriculture. The review of the proposal is still in its early stages.
‘Packaging and packaging waste’ regulation. In the afternoon, , the ministers will have a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation (revision of directive 94/62/EC) that combines recycling, packaging reuse, the minimum recycled content obligation, and the prevention and minimisation of packaging waste as part of the second ‘Circular Economy’ legislative package. They will be asked to comment on the overall level of ambition of the proposal and to identify the elements they consider most appropriate and timely. The Presidency will also invite them to state what they consider to be the most important measures to promote the prevention of packaging waste and to encourage innovative solutions in the EU (see EUROPE 13140/16).
Urban wastewater directive. The ministers will hold a political debate on the European Commission’s October 2022 proposal to modernise Directive 91/271/EEC on urban wastewater treatment (see EUROPE 13051/2). They will be asked to decide on the level of ambition of this future legislation from the ‘Zero Toxic Pollution’ package and on whether to include an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system, as also foreseen in the proposal for energy saving purposes (see EUROPE 13136/3).
Other topics. At lunch, the ministers will discuss the greening of the ‘European Semester’, the budgetary exercise to coordinate the economic policies of the Member States.
Under ‘other business’, the ministers will be informed of matters including:
- the Commission’s recent proposal for new CO2 emission reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles (see EUROPE 13121/1);
- a report by Poland on the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine;
- a note from Austria, supported by Cyprus and Hungary, urging the Commission to carry out a thorough environmental and health risk assessment of new generation GMOs before submitting its proposal on new genomic techniques (see EUROPE 13134/9, 13116/12) - a concern already shared by the Environment Council (see EUROPE 12858/16).
This note also asks the EU Council Presidency to consider creating an ad hoc working group for the upcoming discussions at Council level involving all concerned areas (environment, health and agriculture).
See the note: https://aeur.eu/f/5t0 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang and Nithya Paquiry)