Representatives from the European Union’s member states will next week (5 February) agree a mandate for negotiations with MEPs on a proposal to revise EU rules on shipments of waste. They want to close loopholes in the existing law after a series of scandals in which European waste was illegally dumped in developing countries.
Members of the European Parliament’s environment committee agreed their position last week. Negotiations will begin on 10 February between Greece, which holds the presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, and Belgian Green MEP Bart Staes, who is leading negotiations on behalf of MEPs.
The European Commission’s proposal would require member states to draw up comprehensive inspection plans. MEPs voted to add a requirement for a minimum number of physical checks rather than just checks on paperwork. They also called for the inspection plans to be made public and for inspectors to be given more powers.
The Greek presidency has identified the waste shipment rules as a priority for completion before the Parliament’s plenary meeting, in April, the last before the elections. Though some member states are concerned about creating excessive bureaucracy, they are generally in favor of giving the inspectors more powers, according to a Council source.
(source: europeanvoice)
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