On Monday 27 May, the Council of the EU approved the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which was the subject of an interinstitutional agreement on 5 December (see EUROPE 13307/4) and had already been approved by the European Parliament on 23 April (see EUROPE 13397/15).
This regulation establishes a general framework for the introduction of environmental sustainability standards for most products sold in the EU.
All the Member States voted in favour of this text, with the exception of Italy, which abstained.
The country believes that Member States should be involved to a sufficient extent in the development of secondary legislation, particularly with regard to the definition of ecodesign requirements, rather than delegating powers to the European Commission.
Italy is also unhappy with the fact that the final text extends the range of products (clothing and accessories) subject to a direct ban on destruction and maintains the obligations imposed on medium-sized businesses.
It would also have preferred the definition of “substances of concern” to have been reduced to just those substances that are relevant to reuse and recycling, in line with the objectives of this regulation.
To see the text: https://aeur.eu/f/cee (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)