EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION 
Brussels, 10.3.2015  
COM(2015) 124 final 
2013/0371 (COD) 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 
 
concerning the 
position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of 
the Council amending Directive 94/62/EC as  regards the consumption of lightweight 
plastic carrier bags 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
 
EN 2   EN 2013/0371 (COD) 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on  the Functioning of the European Union 
 
concerning the 
position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of 
the Council amending Directive 94/62/EC as  regards the consumption of lightweight 
plastic carrier bags 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
1. BACKGROUND  
Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and to 
the Council (document COM(2013)0761 final –2013/0371 (COD): 4 November 2013
Date of the opinion of the European Econom ic and Social Committee: 26 February 2014 
Date of the opinion of the Committ ee of the Regions: 2- April 2014 
Date of the opinion of the European Pa rliament, first reading: 16 April 2014 
Date of adoption of the positi on of the Council: 2 March 2015. 
2. OBJECTIVE  OF THE  COMMISSION  PROPOSAL 
The objective of the proposal is to reduce the co nsumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, 
thus to reduce littering of these bags and to prevent them from ending up in the environment, 
where they fall apart in ever smaller pieces and finally remain for a very  long time in the form 
of micro-plastics, causi ng considerable damage to the fauna  and flora, especially in the 
aquatic environment. 
3. COMMENTS  ON  THE  POSITION  OF THE  COUNCIL 
The position of the Council reflects the political agreement reached between the European 
Parliament and the Council on 17 November 20 14 and it supports the main objective of the 
Commission proposal to reduce th e consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, while 
deviating on some aspects and introducing additional elements. 
The Commission's proposal obliges Member States to take measures, while leaving them free 
to decide about precise implementation methods, in line with the subsidiarity principle. The 
compromise reached between the Council and the European Parliament obliges Member 
States to include in these measures, as a mini mum, either a national reduction target and/or 
mandatory pricing. In case a na tional reduction target would be implemented, this is 
predefined in the compromise. 
EN 3   EN The Commission did not consider  it appropriate to propose manda tory pricing or a quantified 
reduction target at the time of presenting the proposal given difficulties with the availability 
of data and common measurement methods and becau se it considered that Member States are 
best placed to choose the measures to redu ce the consumption of plastic carrier bags. 
Even though the Commission considers these provision s too prescriptive, it can, in a spirit of 
compromise, accept them as part of the package. 
The Commission can accept additional elements in troduced in the positi on of the Council, in 
particular: 
• The obligation for the Commission and Member  States to actively encourage public 
information and awareness campaigns, at leas t during the first year after the date of 
transposition of the Directive. 
• The possibility for Member States to implemen t the measures pursuant to the Directive by 
means of agreements between competent aut horities and the economic sectors concerned. 
This possibility is already foreseen in Arti cle 22 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste 
Directive for collection and re turn and recovery systems. 
• The obligation for the Commission to develop and adopt in an impl ementing act, within 
12 months of entry into force of the Directive, a methodology and reporting format for the 
calculation of the annual consumption per person  of lightweight plas tic carrier bags. The 
Commission recognizes the need of availability  of reliable data and considers acceptable 
in principle this obligation, ev en if it increases administra tive burden for Member States 
and economic operators. However, the development and formal adoption of an implementing act may require more than the foreseen 12 months. 
Even though the Commission is of the opini on that a number of elements go beyond the 
objective of its proposal and should therefore be addressed in a broader context, it can, as a 
compromise, accept the following additional elements introduced in the position of the Council, in particular: 
• The obligation for the Commission to develop and adopt in an impl ementing act, within 
24 months of entry into force of the Dire ctive, a label for bi odegradable and home-
compostable plastic carrier bags.  
• The obligation for the Commission to asse ss the life cycle impacts of different 
possibilities to reduce very lightweight plastic carrier bags and presen t, if appropriate, a 
legislative proposal within 24 months of entry into force of the Directive.  
• The obligation for the Commission to examine the impact of the use of oxo-degradable 
plastic carrier bags, present a report to th e European Parliament and the Council and, if 
appropriate, present a legisla tive proposal on the issue within  24 months of entry into 
force of the Directive. 
4. CONCLUSION 
Even though the Commission regrets that the ag reement between the co-legislators includes 
certain elements that are outsi de the scope of the Commission' s proposal and are not in line 
with the principles of better regulation, it welc omes the fact that th e co-legislators have 
reached an agreement on its proposal. 
The Commission can endorse, in a spirit of compromise, the position adopted by the Council 
so that the European Parliament can adopt the final text in second reading. 
However, the Commission considers it necessary  to make the following declaration: 
EN 4   EN The Commission recalls the objectives of it s proposal of 4 November 2013 to limit 
negative impacts on the e nvironment from plastic ba gs consumption by reducing 
consumption and thereby reducing littering of these bags. The Commission, while 
welcoming agreement on its proposal, notes th at the final text ag reed between the co-
legislators includes certain elements that are outside the scope of the Commission's 
proposal and are not in line wi th the principles of bette r regulation. This could pose 
problems for the future application of the Directive, for Member States, the Commission, consumers and economic operators. 
The issues that raise concerns are the following: 
• the adoption of a label for biodegra dable and home-compostable bags without 
the impacts thereof being assessed; 
• additional administrative burden for Me mber States and economic operators, 
including new reporting obligati ons and labelling requirements; 
• provisions which could bett er be addressed in the context of the follow-up to 
the Commission Green Paper on plastic waste,  such as the report on the use of 
"oxo-degradable" plastic bags;  
• the possibility to vary the measures ta ken towards plastic bags based on their 
environmental impact or other properties could be problematic as regards the 
principles of non-discrimination and proportionality and thos e of the Single 
Market; 
• the possibility for setting consumption objectives at a level predetermined by 
the Directive, in the absence of relevant  statistical data for all Member States; 
• too short deadlines for development and adoption in implementing acts of a 
methodology for reporting on consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags 
and of labels for biodegradable plastic carrier bags.