ECN e-Bulletin

Circular Economy – Waste Proposal Provisional agreement on waste legislative proposals!
Fortunately the Commission, Council and the European Parliament reached an provisional agreement at the last trilogue meeting on the waste legislative proposals on 18 December 2017. With regard to biowaste we got aware that the negotiation partners (of Parliament, Council and Commission) agreed on Setting an obligation to implement separate collection on biowaste as of 31 December 2023, and Strengthening the provisions on the clause technically, economically, environmentally practicable 'TEEP'. A final de-brief about the major negotiation items and key outcomes provided by the Estonian Presidency to the Environment attachées of all Member States took place on 20/12/2017. It is expected that the final text of the agreement will be available in Q1 under the Bulgarian Presidency and agreement will then be expected by COREPER in Q1 as well. Fertilising Product Regulation COREPER Mandate on starting trilogue negotiations At the end of the Estonian Presidency and after the vote in the European Parliament (24/10/2017) the Council agreed on 20/12/2017 on the mandate for drafting the fertiliser regulation to improve the existing rules for placing fertilising products on the European market. This mandate enables the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council to start the negotiations with the European Parliament, Council and Commission on this file in 2018. The proposal sets out requirements for placing fertilising products on the EU market. These requirements will include obligatory maximum contaminant levels, the use of defined component material categories and labelling requirements. Tarmo Tamm, Minister of Rural Affairs of Estonia stated that it is important to promote the wider use of innovative fertilisers and offer a more diverse range of fertilising products to agricultural producers in order to make food production more cost-effective and resource-efficient. This has to be done in the context of the circular economy and the protection of the environment and human health. Please find the Council press release here. For further information on the fertilisers file, please find the European Parliament briefing (01/12/2017) here.
European Commission EU Plastic Strategy published
Today the European Commission has launched an Europe-wide strategy on plastics as part of the transition towards a more circular economy. The aim of this strategy is to protect the environment from plastic pollution whilst fostering growth and innovation, turning a challenge into a positive agenda for the Future of Europe. Under the new plans, all plastic packaging on the EU market will be recyclable by 2030, the consumption of single-use plastics will be reduced and the intentional use of microplastics will be restricted. The today’s published Communication on ‘A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’ will now go to the European Parliament and Council for adoption. Later in 2018 the Commission will present the proposal on single-use plastics and will launch the work on the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and prepare guidelines on separate collection and sorting of waste to be issued in 2019. The full list of measures and their timeline on the EU Plastic strategy can be accessed here.
Announcements 20 - 21 February 2018, Brussels (BE) Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference - Delivering on the Circular Economy, What's Next? Two years after the adoption of EU Circular Economy Package in December 2015, more than half of the initiatives included in the Action Plan have been delivered. To discuss upcoming deliverables, explore new areas of action and share the first achievements of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, the Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee will host a Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference on 20-21 February in Brussels. Registration is open until 18 January, 5:00 pm. The preliminary programme and the registration form can be accessed here.
27 - 29 March 2018, Sofia (BG) RENEWABLE ENERGY & WASTE MANAGEMENT
Being among the prominent initiatives in the South-East European Region, the event is a meeting point for industry players from production, commercial and public sectors, municipality and state administration representatives. For its 14 years existence, it has successfully paved the way for advanced technologies and knowledge to the growing South-East European market. The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the LIFE programme are also part of the conference. Further information can be accessed here.