The EU Member States’ environment ministers will seek to establish the EU Council’s negotiating position on the proposed regulation on packaging and packaging waste, at their meeting on Monday 18 December, chaired by the Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera.
In addition, this last ‘Environment’ Council under the Spanish Presidency will be devoted to policy debates on the monitoring of the EU’s soils and forests.
Packaging and packaging waste. The EU Council will attempt to reach a political agreement (‘general approach’) on the November 2022 proposal, which aims to reduce, reuse and recycle packaging in order to tackle the ever-growing mountain of waste (see EUROPE 13074/7, 13069/16).
In an attempt to respond to the Member States’ demand for flexibility (see EUROPE 13143/7), a Presidency compromise introducing a number of flexibilities on the reuse and prevention of waste, at the request of Italy and Finland who are leading the protest, received majority support from delegations on 30 November.
The issue that is still open concerns reuse and refill (Article 26), which sets binding mandatory targets for 2030 and 2040 for reuse and refill targets for various sectors (such as drinks and takeaways).
A slightly amended compromise still has to be discussed on Friday by the EU27 ambassadors, and the issue will certainly be the hot topic at the EU Council.
“The aim is to respond as effectively as possible to concerns without weakening the overall ambition of the text”, according to the Spanish Presidency, which nevertheless remains confident that a political agreement can be reached on Monday 18 December.
For the rest, the flexibilities are concentrated on deposit systems (article 44) by reducing the separate collection threshold above which an exemption could be obtained, and on restrictions for certain packaging formats (article 22 and annex V).
A political agreement in the EU Council will make it possible to launch negotiations with the European Parliament, which has reconciled ambition and pragmatism (see EUROPE 13298/2).
Soil monitoring. The ministers will debate the proposal for a directive on soil monitoring and resilience, presented last July as a step towards promoting healthy soils by 2050, the long-term objective of the EU’s 2030 biodiversity strategy (see EUROPE 13216/4). They will answer two questions: - Is the proposed framework useful for improving soil health in the EU within the timeframe envisaged? - Is the ambition of the proposal and the risk-based approach appropriate to help achieve the objective of an environment free of toxic substances by 2050?
Forest surveillance. Ministers will debate the regulation proposed in November as part of the EU Forest Strategy to bridge the knowledge gap and promote resilient forests in the EU (see EUROPE 13298/15). They will be asked to state: - if they consider that the proposal addresses all aspects of setting up an effective system; - what aspects of the proposal will best address the current shortcomings; - how to make implementation at national level more cost-effective.
No decision has yet been taken on which EU Council (Environment or Agriculture) will take the lead. However, this issue is included in the agriculture programme of the future Belgian Presidency.
To see the programme: https://aeur.eu/f/a4i
Climate. Over lunch, the ministers will exchange views on the EU’s 2040 climate target. The Commission is preparing a communication on this subject, which could be presented at the end of January 2024.
Miscellaneous items. The ministers will be informed by the Spanish Presidency and the Commission of the results of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (see EUROPE 13313/16).
They will also be briefed on the progress of two pieces of legislation:
- the revision of the ‘ambient air quality’ directives, on which interinstitutional negotiations are underway (see EUROPE 13294/3). A second ‘trilogue’ was held on the evening of Wednesday 13 December. The technical aspects of the work were confirmed. No agreement has yet been reached on political issues, due to the lack of prior consultation with delegations;
- the regulation on a framework for the voluntary certification of carbon removals in the EU, which has been the subject of an initial ‘trilogue’ (see EUROPE 13303/3). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)