Brussels, 03/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on 2 March, EU environment ministers held a policy debate on the draft directive to strengthen and simplify Community legislation on industrial pollution through the recasting into one single test of seven existing directives including the IPPC directive on integrate pollution prevention and control (see EUROPE 9825 and 9571). Summarising the main thrust of an “excellent” debate, Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Martin Bursik who chaired the meeting, spoke of:
1) majority support for strengthening reference documents (BREFs) on Best Available Techniques (BATs) for granting permits, with regard particular to emission limit values (the European Commission believes that member states have not implemented the IPPC directive correctly, allowing too great disparities between authorisations granted to industrial plants and BATs). A majority of delegations want BREFs to continue to be non-binding.
2) backing for the review of emission value limits on the basis on BATs, but the vast majority of delegations believe that adopting minimum value limits, to which derogations could not be given for all sectors, would run counter to BATs (since these minimum requirements would be greater than BATs) and would only cause confusion. Only Germany and Austria were in favour of setting a “safety net”, by means of the comitology procedure. The European Parliament environment committee also backs such a move.
3) majority support for aligning emissions targets for large combustion plants (electric power stations, and combustion plants in oil refineries and metallurgical plants) with best available techniques, with effect from 2016. These new requirements, applicable to large plants, however, would have to be accompanied with flexibility that takes account of local conditions. While some delegations wanted current requirements to continue to be applied until 2020, the majority is prepared to go with a transitional period from 2016 to 2020.
4) the refusal by most delegations to have small plants with a capacity of between 20 and 50 MW included within the scope of the IPPC directive, since, according to recalcitrant member states, the costs would be greater than any expected gains to the environment.
Speaking to press, the President of the Council stressed the importance of this issue, given that “the 52,000 or so industrial plants currently covered by the IPPC directive are responsible for 83% of CO2 emissions in Europe, 55% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 34% of nitrogen oxide”. The debate will continue under Swedish Presidency. (A.N./transl.rt)