MEPs have debated the need to adopt an “ambitious and legally binding” ‘Plastics Treaty’ at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday 28 November, while negotiations have been underway in Busan (see EUROPE 13533/18).
Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality, gave MEPs “a brief overview of the process underway” in South Korea. There, negotiators have committed themselves to a new version of the treaty text drawn up by the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), Luis Vayas Valdivieso. It is a version, however, that the EU does not consider to be “up to scratch”. The European Commission has confirmed that discussions are not progressing at a sufficiently sustained pace.
The most frequently discussed items. In Busan, the EU – who wants to do more – is defending positions upon which it is difficult to achieve unanimity: the use of chemical substances of concern and problematic plastics; the introduction in the text of extended producer responsibility in line with the “polluter pays” principle; the use of an instrument to combat “unsustainable” levels of primary plastic production. The EU links the latter to “the scale of plastic pollution”. The European Commission has also admitted that it will be difficult to come to an agreement on a financing structure.
A few figures. “Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 truckloads of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean. By 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in our oceans”, warned Thomas Bajada, who spoke on behalf of the S&D Group.
His counterpart from Renew Europe, Irishman Michael McNamara, pointed out that production represented “around 460 million tonnes of plastic per year worldwide”, and that working on the basis of “current production levels”, this production was set to triple by 2060.
Moreover, only 9% of plastics are recycled worldwide each year, reported Nikо́las Farantoúris (The Left, Greek) and Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Swedish).
The EU must take the lead. “A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work”, acknowledged Thomas Bajada. An approach that takes the entire life cycle of plastics into account remains essential, according to the Maltese MEP, who has called for an end to single-use plastics worldwide and has defended a ban on harmful chemicals. Similarly, Michael McNamara has called for an end to single-use plastic. It should be noted, however, that the Single-Use Plastics Directive has been in force in the EU since 2019.
MEPs from the Greens/EFA, The Left, S&D and Renew Europe groups have called on the EU to work towards a more ambitious treaty by taking the lead in the debates.
Is location the key to the problem? France Jamet, on behalf of the PfE Group, felt that the EU was, on the contrary, responsible for this situation. “Who was it that relocated our factories [to the countries of South Asia and China]?” “Who wanted to use these countries as open-air dumps?” asked the French MEP. She also pointed out that exports of EU waste to third countries “had increased by 72%” between 2004 and 2024. So who does she believe to be responsible for this? “Blissful ultra-Europeans”. And the solution? “Relocation”. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)