Directive No 2004/12/EC of 11.02.2004 amending Directive No 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste

Summary of the initiative

Objective(s)
Environmental objective by increasing recycling; Internal Market objective;
Article 22 (3a) of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste as amended by Directive 2004/12/EC provides for the possibility for Member States to set up systems for (a) the return and/or collection of and (b) the reuse or recovery of used packaging and/or packaging waste "by means of agreements between the competent authorities and the economic operators concerned", provided that the Member State's recovery and recycling rates attain the targets defined in Article 6 of the Directive.

Directive (EU) 2015/720 relating to the reduction of consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags modifies Article 22 (3a) of Directive 94/62/EC in such a way that Member States also have the possibility to take measures to achieve a reduction in the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags on their territory "by means of agreements between the competent authorities and the economic operators concerned", provided that indeed this is a sustained reduction, which can be defined by a national maximum consumption level of 90 lightweight plastic carrier bags by the end of 2019 and 40 bags by the end of 2025.

These agreements must meet a number of requirements, including that they shall:
- be enforceable,
- specify objectives and deadlines,
- be published in the national official journal and be easily accessible
- be monitored regularly (including reporting to national authorities and the Commission and including examination of the progress achieved).

Description of the Initiative

    Sector

    Sector

    Commission DG
    Contact Point - Commission
    ENV C.2

    Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act

    LEGISLATIVE ACT
    Year
    2004
    Title of Act
    Directive No 2004/12/EC of 11.02.2004 amending Directive No 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal L 47 of 18.02.2004, p. 26-32

    Geographical Coverage

    Global coverage
    Participating Countries
    Austria

    Description

    Problems that lead to the introduction of Self/Co-Regulation and the adoption of the Founding Act
    Negative impact of packaging waste on the environment; Risk of barriers to trade through national packaging norms discriminating against imported products.
    Target Group(s)
    Economic sectors concerned; economic operators defined as "suppliers of packaging materials, packaging producers and converters, fillers and users, importers, traders and distributors, authorities and statutory organisations"
    Type of Instrument(s)
    Contractual agreements between the competent public authorities of the Member State and the economic sectors concerned, which is open to all partners who wish to meet the conditions of the agreement with a view to working towards the objectives of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
    Level(s) at which private rules should be defined and applied
    Type of Financing
    -
    Type of Monitoring
    Conduct an initial survey of compliance capacity of future regulateesConduct regular visits and spot checksInitiate complaints proceduresMaintain database of those bounded by the normsProduce regular reportsReceive complaints and verify if norms were breached or notReflexive dialogue with the - stakeholdersOther
    European Commissionyes
    National public authorityyesyes
    International public authorityyes
    Private regulator (code owner)
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
    Self-appointed private parties (e.g. NGOs)
    Succinct description of the type of Monitoring
    The agreements must be enforceable and specify objectives with corresponding deadlines. Results must be monitored regularly and reported to the competent authorities and the Commission. The competent authorities shall ensure that the progress reached is examined. In cases of non-compliance with the agreements Member States shall take legislative, regulatory or administrative measures implementing the relevant provisions of the Directive.
    Type of Enforcement
    Faming, shaming and blamingJudicial sanctionsMembership suspension/exclusionPrivate finesOther
    Private Regulator
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
    Court system
    Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) / Online dispute resolution (ODR)
    Succinct description of the type of Enforcement
    -

    Results of Commission Monitoring

    Link / Reference of Evaluation
    Article 16 of Directive 94/62/EC provides that Member States shall notify to the Commission all draft technical regulations, pursuant to the provisions of Directive 98/34/EC. The monitoring is done once there is a notification. The Commission and the Member States examine the notified draft technical regulations and may issue an opinion that the notifying Member State must take into account. The aim of this mechanism is to ensure that the measures are compatible with EU law and the Internal Market principles.
    In case voluntary agreements as foreseen in Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste qualify as technical regulations, these have to be notified under Directive 98/34/EC. All notified draft measures are available in the TRIS database of DG Enterprise (http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en ).