WRITTEN QUESTION E-3211/97 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (16 October 1997)

Subject: Management of used oils

The estimated quantity of lubricants used in Greece per year is 120-140 000 tonnes. According to studies carried out in EU countries, it is possible to recover at least 50% of the annual consumption of lubricants. In Greece, it is estimated that 50% of the quantity of lubricants consumed per year are recycled as used oils. Unfortunately, however, a very small part of the quantities recycled are actually regenerated and the vast majority of the other recycled used oils (at least 50 000 tonnes) are marketed illegally and sold as fuel oil to installations which have no authorization to burn them.

In view of the fact that:

(a) the above-mentioned practice is directly contrary to Directives 75/439 ((OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 23. )) and 87/101 ((OJ L 42, 12.2.1987, p. 43. )), which clearly state that priority should be given to regenerating used oils,

(b) Joint Ministerial Decisions 71560/3053 and 98012/2001, which were issued in order to bring Greek legislation into line with the above Directives, have not yet been implemented as the conditions for disposing of the used oils have not yet been stipulated, resulting in the uncontrolled use of used oils for purposes other than regeneration,

(c) the uncontrolled use and combustion of used oils creates enormous amounts of pollution and, by extension, constitutes a public health hazard owing to the content of harmful substances which are only removed through the process of regeneration, and

(d) other Member States have made great progress in supporting the rational use of used oils and their regeneration,

will the Commission say whether it is aware of the above situation in Greece and what its views are on the subject? Have checks been carried out or will they be carried out to verify whether the Greek authorities are complying with Directives 75/439 and 87/101 and what practical measures will the Commission take to ensure that the Greek Government implements the Joint Ministerial Decisions and complies in full with the above-mentioned Directives?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (5 February 1998)

Greece has not forwarded any information concerning implementation of the Directive on waste oils (87/101/EEC) amending Directive 75/439/EEC on the disposal of waste oils in the wake of the communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on the implementation of directives as part of waste-management policy of 27 February 1997 ((COM(97) 23 final. )). The Commission has since then had a report drawn up on the economic aspects of waste-oil reclamation and, in accordance with that report, the new national law implementing said Directive dated January 1996.

Only 9% (5 000 tonnes) of waste oil are legally collected and reclaimed. Owing to the geographical structure of the Member State, the large number of islands involved and its mountainous terrain, collection is difficult and costly. Other oils are collected by small illegal collectors who sell the untreated waste for use as fuel. At the moment this illegal collection is unsupervised and because of a long transitional period, it does not seem to us that any legal collection system can be set up for several years yet. The above-mentioned information was assembled following a study carried out by the Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and another, paid for by the Commission, on the management of waste oils throughout the Member States.

In view of that information and of this written question the Commission will open a file ('case detected as a matter of course') on the basis of which it will contact the Greek authorities in order to ask for information on the actual implementation in Greece of Directive 75/439/EEC, as amended by Directive 87/101/EEC. When it receives a reply from Greece the Commission shall not fail to invoke the powers conferred upon it by Article 169 of the EC Treaty, if appropriate.

In addition the Commission has decided to introduce an infringement procedure against most of the Member States, including Greece, since these have not passed on any management plans for wastes, dangerous wastes (including waste oils) and waste packaging.

In conjunction with the above-mentioned file and the infringement procedure concerning the dangerous-waste plans, the Commission will take any action needed in order to ensure the proper application, in Greece, of Community law relating to the management of waste oils.