On the agenda of the next Environment Council, scheduled for Tuesday 17 December, the regulation on microplastics was again the subject of debate at a meeting of the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 4 December. The Member States are unable to reach a compromise and will re-examine the issue in Coreper before the next Council meeting.
With this regulation, the European Commission aims to prevent losses of plastic pellets, which are the third largest source of microplastics unintentionally released into the environment in the European Union.
The inclusion of the maritime sector in the text is the main point of contention between the Member States. Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Croatia are opposed, a European source told Agence Europe.
On Wednesday, the Member States were hoping to finalise the dossier, but Croatia proposed postponing the entry into force of the regulation for maritime transport by 24 to 48 months, according to the same source. The proposal is supported by Slovenia, Estonia, Slovakia, Finland, Portugal, Germany, Cyprus and Bulgaria, but seems to have a blocking minority against it.
In addition, some Member States advocate regulating maritime transport at global level, via the International Maritime Organization (IMO), rather than at EU level.
Several Member States are concerned about the impact of this regulation on the EU’s competitiveness and on the level playing field in international maritime transport, an institutional source told Agence Europe. They fear that European ports will be bypassed, so as not to have to apply the rules on preventing plastic losses.
A representative of one of these countries confirmed to Agence Europe that he was opposed to the inclusion of the maritime sector, in the absence of an impact study. Obligations for hauliers and the costs associated with the administrative burden for small businesses remain divisive.
To prevent losses of plastic pellets, operators handling at least 1,000 tonnes of pellets a year will, for example, have to implement a risk management plan, which will involve ongoing monitoring, labelling and reporting obligations.
“Some countries would like to exclude small companies from the limit of 5 tonnes handled per year. But this would also exclude small companies handling large quantities”, added one of the sources interviewed.
A large majority supports the current text, however, according to several sources. So the inclusion of the maritime sector in the legislation is more than likely. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)