Brussels, 07/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament and the permanent representatives of the Member States (Coreper) agreed on Wednesday on the proposed framework directive of August 2003 on setting ecological requirements to be applied to the design of energy-using products (EUROPE 8903). The compromise reached makes improved energy efficiency the main objective of the directive, and reduces the burden on business of the future legislation, particularly in the case of SMEs. In doing so, the text takes account of the first-reading amendments of the Parliament, which the Council initially sidelined from its common position. The wish of Belgian Socialist Frédérique Ries, rapporteur for the dossier, to stand firm, stopping short of open confrontation with the Council, was granted: a conciliation procedure between the two institutions will be avoided, and the Parliament's confirmation of the agreement at second reading, at its plenary session next week, will be a mere formality.
It is worth noting that the “Eco-design” directive aims to define the general principles and criteria for product design (hairdryers, razors, washing machines, computers, lamps, refrigerators, food processors, etc) minimising their negative impact on the environment. These principles will be added to in the future by technical specifications for individual products, to be drawn up by the Commission with the assistance of a regulatory committee made up of experts in the field. In its initial proposal, the Commission made no mention of the categories of products it would start with.
The text of the agreement ticks the Parliament's box in that it states that heating and hot-water boilers, electric motor systems, lighting in residential and tertiary sectors, mass-market electronics and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems will be the first to have standards applied to them, albeit one year after the directive is adopted. These are the products which offer the greatest scope for potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Parliament also succeeded in adding a specific reference to the priority adoption of an application measure to reduce energy wastage in all appliances in stand-by mode.
The other key elements of the compromise are: the text concentrates on essential environmental factors such as energy efficiency; European standards will be ambitious and obligatory throughout Europe, but the Member States will not in general be allowed to go further than the standards require; SMEs will have specific help to observe the standards; -in order to reduce the bureaucratic burden on business, an analysis of the life-cycle of the product (which the European Commission proposed to make obligatory for the manufacturers of all products, before they are marketed) will be a requirement only when it is not appropriate to set technical standards, and will be limited to essential environmental factors; -market monitoring and checks on imported products will be very strict (unlike other directives, the requirements of which will apply solely to products made within the EU, the text will also apply to companies hoping to export their products into the EU).
Peter Liese, German Christian Democrat and “shadow rapporteur” for the EPP-ED group in the EP/Council negotiations, welcomed this compromise as a great success. In a press release, he said: “the Council took all of our priorities on board, even though in places the wording differs from what we put forward. We have achieved substantial improvements. The directive will allow much progress in the protection of the environment in Europe and will reduce the burden on consumers because, for example, considerable reductions in electricity and water bills can be expected. In its current version, the directive also offers significant opportunities for the economy (…). It will spell planning security for industry and greater rigour towards fraudsters and parallel imports which make life hard for serious industry”.