Environmental compliance

What are the latest developments? We’ve picked out some highlights for December 2024:

Labelling: new EU requirements for electronic devices

New EU Commission takes office

The European Parliament has officially approved the new College of Commissioners, led by Ursula von der Leyen, whose second term as Commission President began on 1 December.

The approval process, which took place over several weeks, involved public hearings for each Commissioner-designate in early November.

During these hearings, candidates were scrutinised by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) regarding their qualifications and plans for their respective portfolios.

The final vote occurred on 27 November, when the College was approved with 370 votes in favour, 282 against, and 36 abstentions.

The approval process began after the European elections in June, when political negotiations ensued among various factions within the Parliament.

Each Commissioner-designate faced intense questioning during their hearings, with MEPs seeking clarity on their commitments and policy priorities.

Notably, Jessica Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, faced particularly tough scrutiny regarding her plans for advancing circular economy initiatives.

Circular economy topics were central to Roswall’s hearing, where she reaffirmed her commitment to the European Green Deal. She discussed her vision for a Clean Industrial Deal aimed at enhancing legal certainty and fostering a single market for secondary raw materials.

MEPs then asked for more concrete details on how she would implement measures to promote the use of secondary raw materials and incentivise plastics recycling.

Throughout the hearing, Roswall emphasised that her primary focus would be on implementing existing legislation rather than proposing new laws. She highlighted the importance of circularity for both sustainability and competitiveness but, without providing specifics on upcoming circular economy policies, MEPs decided to postpone their confirmation vote until later in the day.

Roswall did then end up securing the necessary two-third majority across MEPs.

The new College of Commissioners took office on 1 December, tasked with addressing pressing issues such as decarbonisation, resource efficiency and competitiveness through initiatives including the Clean Industrial Deal and a Competitiveness Compass.

PPWR finally adopted

The European Parliament has adopted the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

At the plenary session on 27 November, MEPs raised no objections to the final version of the legislation.

The formal vote had already taken place in April on a provisional version that had not yet been linguistically and legally revised.

The changes to the provisional version are significant, but mainly of a formal nature. Their main purpose is to ensure legal clarity and coherence. In some places, however, the changes may have practical implications, for example, where ‘may’ becomes ‘shall’.

The long delay before final adoption was necessary because Parliament, Council and Commission had agreed on a compromise only a few weeks before the European elections in June, and the necessary vote in Parliament could not wait until the final version of the Regulation was available.

The so-called corrigendum procedure allowed the previous Parliament to vote on the provisional version. An informal agreement in plenary was then needed to adopt the final version, which had been compiled over the summer.

The revision of the Waste Framework Directive, focusing on food and textiles, is still pending with no current date for when the trilogue negotiations between Parliament, Council and Commission will finalise the amendments.

Labelling: new EU requirements for electronic devices

The European Union recently expanded labelling requirements for distributors of electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets.

EU countries are now implementing the new requirements, which affect producers and distributors of electronics.

Electronic devices with radio functionality fall under the new rules, including items such as digital cameras, headphones, portable video game consoles, portable speakers and e-readers, as well as phones, tablets and laptops.

Distributors must include a pictogram indicating whether a charging device is included with the item bought.

Additionally, distributors must ensure that radio equipment comes with a label that provides information about the device’s charging function and compatible charging devices.

The label must be clearly visible and legible and, for distance selling, must be located near the price.

Germany has already implemented the Directive establishing these new requirements last May, through an amendment to the Radio Equipment Act.

Other EU member states are expected to follow in the coming months. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to corrective actions by the supervisory authorities, including a sales ban.

These obligations are also considered market conduct rules, so non-compliance could be prosecuted as a breach of competition law.

Battery regulation: two updates

EU Battery Regulation reporting requirements

The European Commission is making progress on the Implementing Regulation for Article 76 of the new EU Batteries Regulation.

This piece of secondary legislation will establish the format for data reporting and quality check reports required under the regulation.

The Commission recently introduced its proposal during a meeting of the Technical Adaptation Committee (TAC) on 6 November, which was attended by experts from all Member States.

To support the development of this Implementing Regulation, the Commission engaged Öko-Institute to draft report templates and a Quality Check Report.

These documents aim to help Member States fulfil their reporting obligations under Article 76.

The current draft format, which was discussed at the TAC meeting, includes detailed data tables and reporting requirements for various aspects of battery production, collection and recycling.

With the legislation scheduled to be in place by August 2025, the Commission is working to a tight timeline.

To meet the adoption deadline, all aspects of the Implementing Regulation need to be agreed upon by late Spring 2025. The Commission has requested written comments on the draft documentation from Member States by 4 December, highlighting the urgency of the process and the importance of stakeholder input in shaping the final reporting requirements.

New consultation on Battery Waste Classification

The European Commission has initiated a public consultation on amending the European Waste List to include waste batteries and their treatment residues.

This initiative aims to update the list to align with the new EU Batteries Regulation, which introduces stricter requirements for battery waste management and recycling.

The proposed amendments seek to create new waste codes for various types of batteries, including lithium-based, sodium-based and other emerging technologies.

These changes are expected to improve the tracking and management of battery waste streams, facilitating more efficient recycling processes and supporting battery circularity goals.

Stakeholders, including waste management companies, battery manufacturers and other market agents are invited to provide feedback on the proposed changes by 9 January 2025.

The Commission will use this input to refine the amendments before their anticipated adoption in Q3 2025, with implementation expected to begin in early 2026.