Proposal for a Council Decision granting Cyprus, Malta and Poland certain temporary derogations from Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment
Date: 2004-03-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, Malta, Poland, derogation from EU law, electrical equipment, electronic waste, waste disposal

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 26.3.2004 
COM(2004) 214 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

granting Cyprus, Malta and Poland certain temporary derogations from Directive 
2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The Treaty concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, 
the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  Republic  of  Latvia,  the  Republic  of  Lithuania,  the 
Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of 
Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union (the “Treaty of Accession”) 
was  signed  in  Athens  on  16  April  2003.  Signed  at  the  same  date  and  published 
together  with  the  Treaty  of  Accession  was  the  Act  concerning  the  conditions  of 
accession  of  the  Czech Republic,  the  Republic  of  Estonia,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus, 
the  Republic  of  Latvia,  the  Republic  of  Lithuania,  the  Republic  of  Hungary,  the 
Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak 
Republic  and  the  adjustments  to  the  Treaties  on  which  the  European  Union  is 
founded (the “Act of Accession”). Article 55 of the Act of Accession provides that, 
at  the  duly  substantiated  request  of  one  of  the  new  Member  States,  the  Council, 
acting unanimously on a proposal  from  the Commission, may,  before  1  May 2004, 
take  measures  consisting  of  temporary  derogations  from  acts  of  the  institutions 
adopted  between  1  November  2002  and  the  date  of  the  signature  of  the  Treaty  of 
Accession.  

Directive  2002/96/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  waste 
electrical and electronic equipment (hereinafter referred to as the “WEEE Directive”) 
was  adopted  on  27  January  2003.  According  to  its  Article  1,  the  purpose  of  the 
WEEE  Directive  is,  as  a  first  priority,  the  prevention  of  waste  electrical  and 
electronic  equipment,  and  in  addition,  the  reuse,  recycling  and  other  forms  of 
recovery  of  such  wastes  so  as  to  reduce  the  disposal  of  waste.  It  also  seeks  to 
improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of 
electrical and electronic equipment, e.g. producers, distributors and consumers and in 
particular  those  operators  directly  involved  in  the  treatment  of  waste  electrical  and 
electronic equipment.  

For  waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment  from  private  households,  Member 
States shall set up collection facilities in accordance with Article 5(2) of the WEEE 
Directive. 

According to the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) of the WEEE Directive, Member 
States  shall  ensure  that  by  31  December  2006  at  the  latest  a  rate  of  separate 
collection  of  at  least  four  kilograms  on  average  per  inhabitant  per  year  of  waste 
electrical and electronic equipment from private households is achieved. 

Article  7(2)  of  the  WEEE  Directive  lays  down  certain  minimum  targets  for  the 
recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment, which the Member States have 
to ensure that producers meet by 31 December 2006. These targets vary from 70% to 
80%  by  an  average  weight  per  appliance,  depending  on  the  category  of  waste 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment.  Furthermore,  Article  7(2)  of  the  WEEE 
Directive lays down certain minimum targets for component, material and substance 
reuse and recycling. These targets vary from 50% to 80% by an average weight per 
appliance, depending on the category of waste electrical and electronic equipment. 

6. 

The  WEEE  Directive  includes  provisions  on  the  financing  of  collection,  treatment, 
recovery  and  environmentally  sound  disposal  of  waste  electrical  and  electronic 

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equipment  from  private  households  in  Article  8  and  from  users  other  than  private 
households in Article 9. 

In accordance with Article 17(1) of the WEEE Directive, Member States shall bring 
into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply 
with  this  Directive  by  13  August  2004.  Article  17(4)(a)  provides  that  Greece  and 
Ireland which, because of their overall: recycling infrastructure deficit, geographical 
circumstances such as the large number of small islands and the presence of rural and 
mountain  areas,  low  population  density,  and  low  level  of  consumption  of  electrical 
and electronic equipment, are unable to reach either the collection target mentioned 
in the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) or the recovery targets mentioned in Article 
7(2)  and  which,  under  the  third  subparagraph  of  Article  5(2)  of  Council  Directive 
1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, may apply for an extension of 
the deadline mentioned in that Article, may extend the periods referred to in Articles 
5(5) and 7(2) of the WEEE Directive by up to 24 months. 

On  9  February  2004  the  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision 
granting  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Hungary,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Slovenia  and 
Slovakia certain temporary derogations from the WEEE Directive1. According to this 
proposal,  the  Acceding  States  concerned  should  be  granted  extensions  to  the  time-
limits  referred  to  in  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  5(5)  and  Article  7(2)  of  the 
WEEE Directive of between 12 and 24 months.  

On 18 February 2004 Malta requested, by e-mail to the Commission, an extension of 
36 months to the time-limits referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) and 
Article  7(2)  of  the  WEEE  Directive.  The  reasons  it  gave  concern  its  recycling 
infrastructure  deficit,  low  quantities  of  waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment, 
constraints due to the fact that it is a small and geographically isolated country with a 
small local market and a high population density with attendant land-use problems, 
and that it is a net importer of electrical and electronic equipment.  

In  light  of  the  reasons  provided  by  Malta  for  its  requests  for  derogations  from  the 
first  subparagraph  of  Article  5(5)  and  Article  7(2)  of  the  WEEE  Directive,  the 
Commission  considers  that  Malta  is  unable  to  meet  the  requirements  of  those 
provisions within the time limits laid down by the Directive. The Commission finds 
that it is appropriate to enable Malta to extend those time-limits by up to 24 months. 
The extension of 24 months corresponds to the time-limits granted in relation to the 
same provisons of the WEEE Directive for Greece and Ireland under Article 17(4)(a) 
of that Directive. It also corresponds to the time-limits proposed by the Commission 
for seven other Acceding States as mentioned above. The Commission considers that 
Malta  has  not  invoked  any  additional  circumstances  that  could  justify  further 
extensions of the time-limits concerned.  

Malta has also requested a temporary derogation for the obligation to set up separate 
collection  systems  in  Article  5(2)  of  the  WEEE  Directive.  The  Commission 
considers  that  the  situation  in  Malta  with  regard  to  the  implementation  of  this 
provision is not noticeably different to that of the other Acceding States. It therefore 
considers that the reasons invoked by Malta, including the fact  that Malta  does  not 
currently  have  a  separate  collection  system  or  the  high  costs  for  setting  up  the 

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COM(2004)81 final. 

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systems in question do not justify any extension to the time-limit laid down by this 
provision of the Directive.  

Furthermore,  Malta  also  requests  transitional  periods  from  the  provisions  on 
financing in Article 8 and Article 9 of the WEEE Directive. The Commission notes 
the  information  provided  by  Malta  concerning  its  preparations  to  implement  these 
provisions.  However,  the  Commission  considers  that  it  contains  no  justification  for 
any extension of the time-limits laid down by these provisions of the Directive. Such 
derogations cannot be justified by delays that have occurred in adopting the national 
measures required for implementation of the provisions concerned.  

By letters of 8 March 2004 Cyprus and Poland requested an extension of 24 months 
to the time-limits referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) and Article 7(2) 
of  the  WEEE  Directive.  They  both  stated  as  reasons  their  recycling  infrastructure 
deficit  and  low  population  density.  Poland  also  cited  its  high  proportion  of  rural 
areas. The Commission considers it appropriate to grant the extensions as requested 
for the same reasons as given above for Malta. 

The Commission is proposing a Council Decision granting Cyprus, Malta and Poland 
temporary derogations as laid down in Article 55 of the Act of Accession from the 
first subparagraph of Article 5(5) and Article 7(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC on waste 
electrical and electronic equipment. The periods referred to in the first subparagraph 
of Article 5(5) and Article 7(2) shall be extended by 24 months. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

granting Cyprus, Malta and Poland certain temporary derogations from Directive 
2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of 
Estonia,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  Republic  of  Latvia,  the  Republic  of  Lithuania,  the 
Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia 
and the Slovak Republic to the European Union and in particular Article 2(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the 
Republic  of  Estonia,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  Republic  of  Latvia,  the  Republic  of 
Lithuania,  the  Republic  of  Hungary,  the  Republic  of  Malta,  the  Republic  of  Poland,  the 
Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which 
the  European  Union  is  founded,  hereinafter  ‘Act  of  Accession  of  2003’,  and  in  particular 
Article 55 thereof, 

Having regard to the requests of Cyprus, Malta and Poland, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

According  to  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  5(5)  of  Directive  2002/96/EC  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  January  2003  on  waste  electrical  and 
electronic equipment (WEEE)3, Member States shall ensure that by 31 December 2006 
at  the  latest  a  rate  of  separate  collection  of  at  least  four  kilograms  on  average  per 
inhabitant  per  year  of  waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment  from  private 
households is achieved. 

Article  7(2)  of  Directive  2002/96/EC  lays  down  certain  minimum  targets  for  the 
recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment and for component, material and 
substance reuse and recycling. The Member States have to ensure that producers meet 
these targets by 31 December 2006.  

In accordance with Article 17(1) of Directive 2002/96/EC, Member States shall bring 
into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply 
with  that  Directive  by  13  August  2004.  However,  Article  17(4)(a)  of  Directive 
2002/96/EC provides that Greece and Ireland which, because of their overall recycling 
infrastructure  deficit,  geographical  circumstances  such  as  the  large  number  of  small 

2 
3 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 24. 

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islands and the presence of rural and mountain areas, low population density, and low 
level of consumption of electrical and electronic equipment, are unable to reach either 
the collection target mentioned in the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) or the recovery 
targets mentioned in Article 7(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC and which, under the third 
subparagraph of Article 5(2) of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the 
landfill  of  waste4,  may  apply  for  an  extension  of  the  deadline  mentioned  in  that 
Article,  may  extend  the  periods  referred  to  in  Articles  5(5)  and  7(2)  of  Directive 
2002/96/EC by up to 24 months. 

(4) 

On the basis of Article 55 of the Act of Accession of 2003, Cyprus, Malta and Poland 
requested transitional periods from the time-limits laid down in the first subparagraph 
of  Article  5(5)  and  Article  7(2)  of  Directive  2002/96/EC.  Malta  stated  as  reasons  its 
recycling  infrastructure  deficit,  low  quantities  of  waste  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment,  constraints  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  small  and  geographically  isolated 
country with a small local market and a high population density with attendant land-
use  problems,  and  that  it  is  a  net  importer  of  electrical  and  electronic  equipment. 
Cyprus  and  Poland  stated  as  reasons  their  recycling  infrastructure  deficit  and  low 
population density. Poland also cited its high proportion of rural areas. 

(5) 

Those  reasons  justify  an  extension  of  the  above  mentioned  time-limits  for  Cyprus, 
Malta and Poland by 24 months, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Cyprus, Malta and Poland may extend the time-limits referred to in the first subparagraph of 
Article 5(5) and Article 7(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC by 24 months. 

Article 1 

Article 2 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States and the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of 
Malta and the Republic of Poland. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

4 

OJ  L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1. Directive  as  amended by  Regulation  (EC) No 1882/2003  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003. p. 1). 

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