WRITTEN QUESTION E-2129/03 by Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE-DE) to the Commission. European landfill directive.
Date: 2003-06-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Directive, EU law - national law, Germany, environmental protection, national implementing measure, storage of waste, waste management

26.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51 E/203

(2004/C 51 E/224)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2129/03

by Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 June 2003)

Subject: European landfill directive

The 1999 European landfill directive (1999/31/EC (1)) was transposed into national law in the Federal
Republic of Germany by,
the regulation on the environmentally compatible dumping of
municipal waste and on biological waste treatment plants of 20 February 2001.

inter alia,

A key feature of both the directive and the regulation is the time limit imposed on the deposit of non-inert
waste such as household waste, commercial waste similar to household waste, sewage sludge and other
waste with a high amount of organic matter.

The technical guidelines for municipal waste in force in Germany and the regulation on dumping both
provide for temporary authorisation up to 31 May 2005. The question of whether the final deadline of
31 May 2005 can be met has been the subject of intense debate ever since the regulations were adopted.

Doubts as to whether the German regulation on dumping is compatible with European law have led the
Administrative Court in Koblenz to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. The Court of Justice
is to clarify,
in the context of the dispute between the Eiterköpfe landfill association and the Land
Rheinland-Pfalz, whether the regulation on dumping is compatible with the EU landfill directive on which
it is based. What is the Commission’s position on this question?

Experts in Germany have voiced doubts as to whether the ban on dumping the above categories of waste
can be implemented from 1 June 2005 onwards. In this light, how does the Commission assess the
statements made by representatives of
the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety to the effect that it is possible for non-inert waste to be dumped for up
to three years after the final deadline of 31 May 2005 if the subsequent qualified treatment of the waste
can be guaranteed?

(1) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(7 August 2003)

In the preliminary ruling case C-6/03, Eiterköpfe, the following questions were referred to the Court of
Justice:

(cid:1) With its first question, the referring court wants to know whether Article 5(1) of Council Directive
1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (‘Landfill Directive’) may be transposed into
national law by means of measures laying down more stringent standards, differing from those set out
in Article 5(2) of the Directive, in that municipal waste and waste that can be deposited in the same
way as municipal waste may be landfilled only if the appropriate ‘organic component of dry residue of
the original substance’ classification criterion (expressed as combustion loss or total organic carbon
(TOC)) is satisfied.

(cid:1) With question (2a), the national court asks whether, in case of a positive answer to the first question,

a national provision under which:

(cid:1) firstly, the organic content of dry residue of the original substance in the case of municipal waste
and waste that can be deposited in the same way as municipal waste must, by 1 June 2005, be no
more than either 5 % by mass, expressed as combustion loss, or 3 % by mass, expressed as TOC;

C 51 E/204

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

26.2.2004

(cid:1) secondly, from 1 March 2001, waste subject to mechanical and biological treatment may be
landfilled at existing sites until 15 July 2009 at the latest, or even beyond that date in certain
cases, only if the organic content of dry residue of the original substance is no more than 18 % by
mass, expressed as TOC, and the biodegradability of the dry residue of the original substance is
no more than 5 mg/g, expressed as aerobic activity (AT4), or 20 l/kg, expressed as the gas
formation rate in the fermentation test (GB21);

(cid:1) complies with the reduction targets laid down in Article 5(2) of the Landfill Directive, having

regard to the Community principle of proportionality.

(cid:1) With question 2 (b), the national court wants to know whether, under the Community principle of
proportionality, there is a wide or a narrow margin of discretion in assessing the impact of overlaying
waste that has not been treated prior to landfill with waste that has been pre-treated by thermal or
mechanical and biological processes. Moreover, the court asks whether the principle of proportionality
permits hazards caused by waste pre-treated by mechanical processes alone to be offset by other
safeguards.

According to the Commission, the questions have to be answered as follows:

(cid:1) Article 5(1) and (2) of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste have to be interpreted in a way
as to allow a national provision, such as the German Regulation on the Environmentally Sound
Deposit of Municipal Waste of 20 February 2001, to lay down limit values regarding the quantity of
biodegradable municipal waste and waste that can be disposed as such destined for landfill, even if
these limit values may only be achieved by means of mechanic-biological treatments or incineration,
and if they lead to the fact that, depending on the type of waste concerned, no more biodegradable
waste of the said category may be landfilled from 2001, or 2005, onwards.

(cid:1) A national provision such as the one in question goes beyond the requirements of the Directive and is
hence a stricter protection measure according to Article 176 of the EC Treaty. The Community
principle of proportionality does not apply to such a measure.

The Commission is not aware of the possibility under German legislation to continue accepting waste that
does not fulfil the acceptance criteria for a period of three years after 2005. If such a possibility were to be
given, Germany would have to notify the Commission of this change and of the measures taken to ensure
that the targets set in Article 5(2) of Council Directive 1999/31/EC, in particular the target for the year
2006, are achieved.

(2004/C 51 E/225)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2134/03

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Council

(26 June 2003)

Subject: Deployment of an EU force in Congo

Endorsing the Council’s decision of 5 June 2003 concerning Congo, a number of
international
organisations have pointed out that the mandate is too limited (geographically) and too short (expiring
on 1 September).

Will the Council draw the attention of the United Nations Secretary-General and the Security Council to
the desirability of a fresh mandate in respect of these two points?

Reply

(13 October 2003)

The UNSC in its Resolution 1484 (2003) authorised the deployment until 1 September 2003 of an Interim
Emergency Multinational Force in Bunia. It was stressed that this force is to be deployed on a strictly