The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU is determined to make the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) a tool for the long-term competitiveness of European industry, avoiding the excessive bureaucratic burden and fully involving EU Member States in the development of ecodesign requirements.
This is reflected in the third draft of the compromise it has put together on this future regulation. It will establish a framework for the subsequent setting of ecodesign and information requirements for all products, except food, feed and medicines.
The draft compromise, dated 5 April and made available to EUROPE, will be submitted to the experts of the Council of the EU’s Working Group on Competitiveness on Wednesday 19 April.
While the text stresses that this is a major regulation in the European Green Deal, the draft compromise adds a paragraph to highlight the competitive ambition of the European Green Deal Industrial Plan, presented on 1 February (see EUROPE 13112/1), and the importance of harmonisation for the proper functioning of the internal market.
“A fully functioning internal market for sustainable products is a prerequisite for establishing a circular economy in the EU. Common ecodesign requirements at the European Union level would enable the development, deployment and scale-up of new circular economy business models throughout the internal market and boost long-term competitiveness of the European Union”, the text emphasised.
It states that “such measures would also remove a disproportionate burden on companies and provide industry and consumers with access to reliable and clear data, thereby allowing for more sustainable choices to be made”.
A harmonised framework. Given the importance of sustainable products for the transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy, and to provide legal certainty for all operators concerned and to prevent barriers on the internal market, it is necessary to create a harmonised regulatory framework for setting ecodesign requirements for products placed on the market, the text also states.
According to the draft compromise, to be effective, such a framework must allow for the setting of ecodesign requirements for all material goods, including “digital content that is an integral part of a physical good”.
Less bureaucracy. In order not to overburden businesses, the draft compromise stresses that the successful approach of the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) should be extended to all products for key aspects of improving environmental sustainability but that it should also be specified when requirements for these key aspects are not necessary to increase the environmental sustainability of products.
Also, when defining the product group, the European Commission should consider whether custom-made products and small series production should be exempted from all or part of the ecodesign requirements, the text says.
Critical raw materials and renewable resources. In addition to the ambition of the European Green Deal Industrial Plan, the proposed compromise incorporates the proposed regulation on critical raw materials of 16 March (see EUROPE 13143/2, 13137/1). The text stipulates that the future regulation must, among other things, increase the energy efficiency of products, including strategic and critical raw materials.
Similarly, the text adds that ecodesign requirements could also relate to resource use, including requirements related to the use of renewable resources or bio-based materials in the product.
Comitology. The compromise clarifies and specifies the respective powers of the Member States and the Commission (delegated/implementing acts), thus consolidating the approach adopted, already detailed in our guidelines, based on a note drafted at the end of March by the Swedish Presidency, which summarised the wishes of national governments anxious to have their say (see EUROPE 13155/2, 13149/9).
Read the compromise proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/6cu (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)