At an Environment Council meeting on Monday 25 March (see EUROPE 13378/1, 13378/2), the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council asked EU Member States’ environment ministers for their views on the need to include – or not – the maritime sector in the scope of the regulation on reducing pollution by microplastics.
While none of the Member States rejected such an idea, a small majority – including Germany, Greece, Italy and Denmark – felt that such measures should be taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is also the European Commission’s preference.
Of these Member States, some suggested that the IMO should be favoured as a first step, and then that the issue be dealt with at European level if no results are achieved.
This avenue could be considered in future interinstitutional negotiations, with the European Parliament arguing in favour of including the maritime sector in the scope of the text, in line with the position it adopted on 19 March in the Parliament’s committee, with a view to future negotiations with the Council of the EU. This will be put to the vote at the next plenary session in April (see EUROPE 13374/14).
Member States’ ministers were also expected to discuss a second question from the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council concerning the assessment of the planned provisions in terms of the responsibilities allocated to the various public and private players.
On this point, Member States insisted that the administrative burden should not be too great for players in the sector, particularly as regards control and certification systems. In order to find a future compromise among the EU27, the discussions will also have to cover a range of aspects, from the definition of plastic pellets to penalties and other compensation schemes, according to the respective positions of the Member States. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)