No C 354/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 85 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive Amending Directive 84/631 /EEC on the 
supervision and control within the European Community of the transfrontier shipment of 
hazardous waste (J) 
(85/C 354/03) 
Procedure 
On 22 October 1985, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Articles 100 and 235 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the above 
mentioned proposal. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which was 
responsible for preparing the committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 3 December 
1985, in the light of the report by Mr Zoli. 
At its 232nd plenary session (meeting of 18 December 1985) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously: 
1. Comments 
1.1. The Commission justifies its proposal for a 
Directive amending the basic Directive 84/631/EEC on 
transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste on the grounds 
that the supervision and control procedures laid down in 
that Directive apply only to shipment within the Com­
munity. In the case of shipment to third countries, that 
Directive confines itself to obliging the holder of waste to 
notify the countries of destination and transit and to make a 
declaration informing the Member State from which the 
waste is exported that it has reached the intended 
destination. 
1.2. Under these conditions, a significant increase in the 
export of dangerous waste to third countries and 
particularly developing countries cannot be excluded. The 
latter could be induced by short-term considerations to 
import dangerous waste without having adequate technical 
means for disposing of it. 
1.3. This is why the OECD, following the conference on 
international cooperation concerning transfrontier move­
ments of hazardous waste, held in Basle on 27 to 28 March 
1985, recommended that movements of hazardous waste 
should not take place without the consent of the importing 
country and transit countries, nor unless the hazardous 
(!) OJ No C 284, 7. 11. 1985, p. 5. waste is directed to adequate disposal facilities in the 
importing country. 
1.4. The Committee therefore approves the Commis­
sion proposal to implement the OECD recommendations 
in the Community and thereby to fill the gaps in the basic 
Directive. 
1.5. With regard to the proposed new paragraph 7 of 
Article 4, the Committee wonders about the nature and 
form of the proof which the holder of the waste must 
provide — in addition to the agreement of the countries of 
transit and destination — that the consignee of the waste 
has the necessary capacity and competence to dispose of the 
waste adequately. 
1.6. In the Committee's view, it would be desirable to 
specify that this proof, originally provided by the plant 
responsible for disposing of the waste, be accompanied by 
the control certificate issued by the relevant authorities of 
the third country concerned, in order to avoid excessive 
movements of waste towards third countries. 
1.7. Finally, the Committee takes the opportunity, 
provided by this proposal to amend the basic Directive, to 
draw the Council's attention to the need for Member States 
to send the information provided for in Article 12 to the 
Commission immediately, in order to prevent the Directive 
being impossible to apply in practice. 
Done at Brussels, 18 December 1985. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR