Persistent organic pollutants: Council agrees its position
The EU is updating its rules for the world's most lasting and polluting chemicals. The Council today agreed its position on the recast regulation on persistent organic pollutants, the UN-agreed list of highly toxic substances. Since 2004, the production, use and trade of these substances has been progressively banned and a 'name and shame system' put in place to sanction those infringing the rules.
Today's agreement paves the way for the Austrian presidency to begin negotiations with the European Parliament.
Our goal is clear: we want to eliminate the production and use of the world's most toxic substances. Today we are taking another important step towards protecting human health and preventing environmental pollution from the most dangerous hazardous chemicals.
Elisabeth Köstinger, Austrian federal minister of sustainability and tourism
The recast proposal will ensure alignment of the regulation with the Lisbon Treaty, and with the latest amendments to the Stockholm Convention, which provides the global legal framework to eliminate the production, use, import and export of persistent organic pollutants. Several amendments improve the alignment of the regulation with the general EU legislation on chemicals. As a result of the changes, there will be more clarity, transparency and increased legal certainty for all parties involved in the implementation of the regulation.
Under the new rules, the current high level of protection of human health and the environment in Europe will be maintained, but some tasks foreseen under the regulation will be transferred from the European Commission to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, as this is expected to reduce the overall costs and to increase the scientific knowledge available for implementation.
In its position, the Council allowed, for all recycled materials, a concentration of up to 500 parts per million for the cumulative sum of all polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a category of flame retardants which include decaBDE. The Council also added a review clause which requires the Commission to assess the related effects on health and on the environment two years after the entry into force of the regulation.
The Council has also agreed a derogation for the manufacturing, placing on the market and use of decaBDE for airplanes, motor vehicles as well as electric and electronic equipment.
For short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), the Council has introduced a derogation to the ban for the manufacturing, placing on the market and use of substances or mixtures containing SCCPs in concentrations lower than 1% by weight or articles containing SCCPs in concentrations lower than 0,15% by weight.
Background and next steps
On 22 March 2018, the European Commission adopted a proposal to recast the regulation on persistent organic pollutants.
Today’s agreement follows intensive discussions at working level within the Council. The Austrian Presidency can now begin negotiations with the European Parliament, which adopted its position on the regulation on 15 November 2018. A first meeting is scheduled for 4 December.