Brussels, 21 November 2023
The Council and the European Parliament’s negotiators today reached a provisional political agreement on proposed amendments to EU law on the collection and management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment which includes a range of products such as computers, fridges and photovoltaic panels.
The waste generated from devices we use every day is increasing at a worryingly rapid pace. The agreement we found today will bring the necessary legal certainty as to who is to bear the costs of management of such high-risk waste and ensure an environmentally sound treatment of electrical and electronic waste, while not overburdening EU consumers.
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spanish third vice-president of the government and minister for the ecological transition and the demographic challenge
The amendments aim to bring the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive into line with an EU Court of Justice judgment on the unjustified retroactive application of extended producer responsibility to waste from photovoltaic panels placed on the market between 13 August 2005 and 13 August 2012.
Court ruling on the WEEE directive
The matter dates back to 2012, when the then new WEEE directive entered into force, bringing photovoltaic panels into the scope of the previous directive. It also implemented an ‘open scope’ as of 15 August 2018, meaning that all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) products were considered to be within the directive’s scope unless specifically excluded.
In its judgment in case C-181/20 of 25 January 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared some parts of the WEEE directive as being partially invalid owing to non-justified retroactive effects. The Court held that, according to the new directive, the financing of waste collection, treatment, recovery and disposal costs (extended producer responsibility) retroactively applied to photovoltaic panels placed on the market since 13 August 2005. The conclusion to be drawn from the judgement was that extended producer responsibility also applied retroactively to products which were added to the scope in 2018. The Court therefore found the new directive to be liable to violate the principle of legal certainty.
Amendments to the directive agreed by Council and Parliament
The provisional agreement reached by the co-legislators endorses the content of the Commission’s initial proposal and further clarifies the links to relevant provisions in the waste framework directive. The proposed amendments clarify that:
- the costs of the management and disposal of waste from photovoltaic panels placed on the market after 13 August 2012 rest with the producer of the EEE
- extended producer responsibility for EEE products that were added to the scope of the directive in 2018 should apply to those e-products that were put on the market after that date
The agreement introduces a review clause by which the Commission must assess, no later than 2026, the need for a revision of the directive. If appropriate, the Commission will have to present a legislative proposal, accompanied by a socio-economic and environmental impact assessment. The text of the agreement specifies that the Commission should also ensure that the costs of managing WEEE are not disproportionately transferred on to consumers or citizens.
The co-legislators also agreed to extend the transposition period of the new directive from 12 to 18 months. It is the same transposition period that was applied when the directive entered into force 2012.
Next steps
The provisional agreement will now be submitted to the member states’ representatives within the Council (Coreper) and to the Parliament’s environment committee for endorsement. If approved, the text will then need to be formally adopted by both institutions, following legal-linguistic revision, before it can be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force.
Background
The Commission adopted its proposal to bring a targeted amendment to the WEEE Directive on 7 February 2023.
Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) includes a large range of devices such as computers, fridges and mobile phones at the end of their life. The amount of WEEE generated every year in the EU is increasing rapidly. It is now one of the fastest growing waste streams.
This type of waste contains a complex mixture of materials, some of which are hazardous and can cause major environmental and health problems if the discarded devices are not managed properly. In addition, modern electronics contain rare and expensive resources, which can be recycled if the waste is effectively managed.
EU rules on WEEE aim to contribute to sustainable production and consumption.
- Mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on the WEEE directive
- Commission proposal amending the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive
Source – EU Council