Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

At dawn on Friday, Council and European Parliament negotiators reached a temporary political agreement to update the regulations related to waste shipments. According to a European statement issued in Brussels today, the review of the regulation aims to reduce shipments of problematic waste outside the European Union, modernize shipping procedures to reflect the goals of the circular economy and improve implementation. It establishes procedures and control systems to ensure that international shipments of waste do not pose a threat to human health and the environment, and to encourage the use of waste as a resource in the circular economy within the EU. The agreement is considered temporary pending its official approval by the two institutions. “Embracing waste as a valuable resource rather than as something disposable is crucial to our transition to a circular economy. Today’s agreement will provide us with the framework needed to better recover and reuse waste as secondary materials. At the same time, it will provide us with ‘Help us to ensure that the waste we We export it will not be harmful to the environment and human health. “Today’s agreement is another important step towards the EU’s goals of zero pollution and climate neutrality.” According to what the statement quoted from Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, Vice President of the Spanish Government and Minister of Environmental Transformation and Demographic Challenge, whose country holds the current rotating presidency of the Union.
Scope and objectives of the regulation
Participating legislators agreed to expand the goals of the regulation to include climate neutrality, achieving a circular economy, and zero pollution.
The agreement covers shipments of waste within the European Union (with or without transit through third countries), waste imported and exported to and from third countries, and shipments of waste in transit through the European Union to or from third countries.
Shipments within the European Union
The text prohibits shipments of all waste intended for disposal within the European Union, unless approved and authorized under strict conditions and in justified cases. Waste shipments within the European Union will be permitted for recalls after prior written notification and consent (“PIC”) has been made.
The text of the agreement includes an exception for shipments of waste expressly designated for analysis and laboratory experiments if this waste does not exceed 250 kg. In this case, the shipment of these wastes must follow the general information requirements set forth in the regulation.
Notification procedures and timelines
Under the PIC procedure, notifiers within the EU and exporters to third countries must notify and receive written confirmation from the countries of sending, destination and transit before exporting. The notification and other documents required by the regulation must be submitted and exchanged through a central electronic system administered by the Commission.
The Convention sets specific timetables and deadlines for notification procedures, requests for additional information by competent authorities, and decisions taken by these authorities regarding the validity of the notification. The timelines agreed by the participating legislators will ensure that there are no disproportionate delays in those processes, while at the same time providing the relevant authorities with sufficient time to obtain and evaluate documents and to analyze and respond to requests during those processes.
The text also specifies timelines for notifiers to respond to written approval from competent authorities and for the receiving facility to inform the notifier and competent authorities of receipt of waste.
In order to provide transparency, participating legislators agreed to request the Commission to facilitate public access to information regarding waste shipments by publishing and regularly updating data on shipment notifications via its website.
Waste exports
The agreement maintains the prohibition on member states to export waste for disposal to third countries and to export hazardous waste intended for recovery in non-OECD countries. For shipments outside EU member states, co-legislators agreed that waste management facilities in the destination country should be subject to audit by independent bodies. Audits will demonstrate that facilities treat waste in an environmentally sound manner and operators will only be permitted to export waste to these facilities if this is the case.
The new rules require the Commission to create a register containing up-to-date information on facilities that have been audited to help waste exporters prepare for shipments.
Export of plastic waste
The interim agreement introduces stricter rules regarding the export of plastic waste to third countries. In particular, it includes a ban on the export of non-hazardous plastic waste (B3011) to non-OECD countries. The text stipulates that non-OECD countries can submit a request to the Commission, no later than five years after the entry into force of the regulation, stating their willingness to import plastic waste from the European Union, if they meet strict waste management. Standards. In the event of a positive result of the evaluation of this request, the Commission will adopt a delegated law to lift the ban on these countries.
The participating legislators agreed to allow the export of non-hazardous plastic waste to OECD countries, subject to the “PIC” notification procedure. The text calls on the Commission to strictly monitor the export of plastic waste to OECD countries to ensure that such export does not have a significant impact on the environment or human health and that waste imported from the EU is appropriately managed in these countries.
Mandatory
The Interim Agreement calls on Member States to establish effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for violations of the provisions set out in the regulations. These may include, where appropriate, fines and the cancellation or temporary suspension of licenses relating to waste management and shipments.
The agreement also stipulates requirements for member states to ensure the effective implementation of the regulation by establishing effective cooperation mechanisms

At the national level and between Member States through the exchange of relevant information and good practices. The participating legislators approved the Commission's proposal to establish an enforcement group to enforce waste shipments that would facilitate and improve cooperation and coordination among Member States, in order to prevent and detect illegal shipments.
Next steps
The interim agreement will now be submitted to representatives of member states within the Council (Coreper) and to Parliament's Environment Committee for approval. If the text is approved, it will then need to be formally adopted by the two institutions, after legal and linguistic review, before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entering into force.
background
The Waste Shipping Regulation implements the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and an OECD decision associated with EU law. The regulation covers the export and import of waste from the European Union to third countries, as well as shipments of hazardous and non-hazardous waste between EU member states. It is particularly prohibited to export hazardous waste from OECD and EU countries to countries outside the European Union and non-OECD countries. The regulation also specifies procedures for notification and approval of waste shipments.
However, since the adoption of the regulation in 2006, waste exports from the EU to third countries have increased significantly, in particular to non-OECD countries. The lack of detailed provisions to ensure sustainable waste management in destination countries has led to weak implementation and environmental and public health challenges in those countries.
The Commission adopted its proposal to update the Waste Shipping Regulation on 17 November 2021. The European Parliament reached its position in January 2023, while the Council adopted its negotiating mandate in March 2023.