On Wednesday 7 June, the Council of the European Union adopted its position on the proposal for an EU regulation on the communication of environmental data from industrial installations, with the aim of transforming the current European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) into an emissions portal to ensure greater transparency for the public.
In so doing, the EU Council is ready to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on this legislation, which was presented in April 2022 at the same time as the proposal to strengthen the Industrial Emissions Directive (known as the ‘IED’ Directive) to meet the goal of ‘Zero Pollution’ (see EUROPE 12926/2).
The EU Council supports the aim of the regulation and clarifies certain definitions, specifically what constitutes an industrial establishment (see EUROPE 13171/7).
It also wishes to limit the European Commission’s power to adopt delegated acts to modify the scope of activities and pollutants covered by the future regulation, as well as the thresholds applicable in Annex I (pertaining to activities requiring reporting above the set thresholds) and Annex II (pertaining to pollutants that must be reported above the thresholds that have been set).
The EU Council is therefore opting for a mixed approach of delegated acts in some cases and decision-making by the EU Council and European Parliament in others.
With regard to penalties, the EU Council is defending an alignment with the position it defended for the IED Directive, i.e. sufficient flexibility for Member States to adapt the provisions to their different national legal systems, taking into account the fact that the Regulation on the European Emissions Portal only governs aspects linked to reporting.
Furthermore, the EU Council is extending the entry into force of the regulation by 2 years to give Member States sufficient time to adapt to the new rules. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)