Amendment of Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive

The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (widely known as WEEE or e-waste) generated every year in the EU is increasing rapidly. It is now one of the fastest growing waste streams. EU rules on WEEE aim to contribute to sustainable production and consumption and address environmental and other issues caused by the growing number of discarded electronics in the EU.

The purpose of this targeted amendment is to align the current legislation with a judgment of the Court of Justice, which declared as partially invalid Article 13(1) of WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU and which requires a modification of this and related articles.

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the contents of the proposal and has already set out its views on the subject in its earlier opinion CESE 5002/2014, adopted on 12/11/2014 , it decided to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text and to refer to the position it had taken in the above-mentioned document.