COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2021/1840

of 20 October 2021

amending Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste (1), and in particular Article 37(2), third subparagraph.

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, the Commission is required to periodically update Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 (2) concerning the export for recovery of certain waste to certain countries to which the OECD Decision (3) does not apply. The Commission does so based on new information regarding the legislation applicable in the third country concerned regarding the import of waste.

(2) In 2019, the Commission sent a written request to certain countries to which the OECD Decision does not apply, seeking confirmation in writing that waste and mixtures of wastes listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, the export of which is not prohibited under Article 36 of that Regulation, may be exported from the Union for recovery in those countries. The Commission also requested the countries concerned to indicate any applicable national control procedure. The Commission received replies, including requests for further clarification (4).

(3) At its fourteenth meeting held in May 2019, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (5) (the ‘Basel Convention’) adopted Decision BC-14/12. This Decision added new entries for plastics in the Annexes to the Basel Convention, including entry B3011 in Annex IX concerning non-hazardous waste. These amendments are effective as of 1 January 2021. In addition, on 7 September 2020, the Environment Policy Committee to the OECD adopted amendments to Appendix 4 of the OECD Decision relating to hazardous plastic waste, and made clarifications to Appendices 3 and 4 of the OECD Decision, effective as of 1 January 2021.

(4) Pursuant to those decisions, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2174 (6) amended Annexes IC, III, IIIA, IV, V, VII and VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 to take account of the amendments relating to entries on plastic waste in the Annexes to the Basel Convention and in the OECD Decision. As a result, as of 1 January 2021, exports of plastic waste from the Union to countries to which the OECD decision does not apply is only permitted if such waste falls within the scope of the new plastic waste entry B3011, included in Annex IX to the Basel Convention, and the country of destination allows the import of such waste into its territory.

(5) In 2019 and 2020, the Commission contacted the countries concerned to seek clarification about the national procedures in relation to the new plastic entries under the Basel Convention. The Commission received replies from 23 countries and custom territories (7).

(6) Certain countries have communicated their intention to follow control procedures that are distinct from those provided for in Article 37(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006. In those cases, listed in column (d) of the Annex to this Regulation, it is assumed exporters are aware of the precise legal requirements imposed by the country of destination.

(7) Where it is indicated in the Annex that a country does not prohibit certain shipments of waste nor applies to them the procedure of prior written notification and consent provided for in Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, Article 18 of that Regulation should apply mutatis mutandis to such shipments.

(8) Where a country is listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007, and the Commission has information that there have been changes to the relevant national legislation but the country did not issue a confirmation in writing in reply to the requests for information sent by the Commission in 2019 and 2020, the procedure of prior written notification and consent applies in accordance with Article 37(2), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006.

(9) Where a country is not listed or a particular waste or mixture of wastes is not indicated for a given country in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007, this means that the country has not issued a confirmation in writing or has not issued a confirmation in writing for this waste or mixture of wastes, that it may be exported from the Union to such country for recovery. In accordance with Article 37(2), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, for exports for recovery of wastes which are not prohibited under Article 36 of that Regulation to those countries and in relation to those wastes, the procedure of prior written notification and consent applies. In those cases, under column (a) of the Annex to this Regulation, where countries have indicated that they prohibit the imports of all waste covered by Annexes III and IIIA of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, but have not provided specific information on their national control procedures with respect to plastic waste falling under waste entry B3011, the general import prohibition should be deemed to also cover plastic waste under entry B3011.

(10) In those cases where countries have indicated that all waste covered by Annexes III and IIIA of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 would not be subject to a control procedure or other control procedures under national law, but have not provided specific information on their national control procedures with respect to plastic waste falling under waste entry B3011, the procedure of prior written notification and consent under column (b) of the Annex to this Regulation should be deemed to apply with regard to entry B3011.

(11) The Commission also deleted for countries that have not replied to its request for information entries B3010 and GH013 that no longer exist.

(12) On 25 May 2021, the OECD Council approved the Opinion of the Environment Policy Committee regarding the compliance by Costa Rica with the OECD Decision. Consequently, Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 does not apply to that country any more and the entry for Costa Rica is therefore deleted from the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007.

(13) Therefore, the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 should be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 20 October 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply (OJ L 316, 4.12.2007, p. 6).

(3) Decision of the Council on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations (OECD/LEGAL/0266).

(4) Replies from: Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kosovo*, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar/Burma, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Colombia became member of OECD on 28 April 2020. Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 will cease to apply to Colombia once relevant OECD bodies have established that Colombia fully complies with the OECD Decision.

(5) 1673 UNTS p. 57.

(6) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2174 of 19 October 2020 amending Annexes IC, III, IIIA, IV, V, VII and VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste (OJ L 433, 22.12.2020, p. 11).

(7) Customs territories are listed separately in the Annex, even when they belong to the same country.