On Friday 12 May, the European Commission launched a second public consultation on the application of the ‘polluter pays principle’ (PPP) in the EU, with a view to improving it. It wishes to gather contributions from citizens and all interested parties.
The Commission intends to assess how the PPP is implemented by EU Member States, including for EU policies that may have an impact on the environment, in response to an audit by the European Court of Auditors published in July 2021.
The Court of Auditors denounced the fact that, too often, it is the European taxpayer, and not the polluter, who bears the cost of pollution (see EUROPE 12755/3).
The assessment covers aspects such as: - the EU and Member States’ use of market-based instruments; - indirect payment of the polluter through environmentally harmful subsidies; - the failure to apply the PPP in the context of EU funds; - the way in which environmental liabilities are handled; - the use of pricing in policies.
The results will enable the Commission to prepare a recommendation in 2024 on how best to implement the polluter pays principle in environmental policies.
A first call for contributions was launched at the end of 2022 (see EUROPE B1306324). This public consultation is open until midnight Brussels time on 4 August.
To access the consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/6uw (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)