Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on amending Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators as regards Article 6(2) on placing batteries and accumulators on the market
Date: 2008-04-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: electricity storage device, electronic waste, environmental protection, marketing, waste management, withdrawal from the market

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.4.2008 
COM(2008) 211 final/2 

2008/0081 (COD) 

CORRIGENDUM: 
Annule et remplace le 
COM(2008)211 final du 16.4.2008. 
Cette correction concerne les 
versions: FR, DE et EN. 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on 
batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators as regards Article 6(2) 
on placing batteries and accumulators on the market 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1) CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

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Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

The objective of this proposal is to clarify Article 6(2) of Directive 2006/66/EC.  

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General context 

Article  6(2)  sets  out  that  batteries  and  accumulators  that  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of 
Directive  2006/66/EC  should  not  be  placed  on  the  market  or  should  be  withdrawn  from  it. 
This  provision  could  be  understood  to  require  that  batteries  lawfully  placed  on  the  market 
before  26  September  2008,  still  on  the  market  after  this  date,  and  not  meeting  the 
requirements of this Directive, also need to be withdrawn from the market.  

If the provision of the Directive is read as above, it would mean that a considerable amount of 
batteries  that  were  legally  placed  on  the  market  become  waste  prematurely.  This  would  be 
contrary to the principle of waste minimisation. This could also result in appliances becoming 
waste  prematurely.  Withdrawing  these  batteries  from  the  market  or  making  them  compliant 
with  the  Directive  would  also  cause  increased  administrative  burden  both  for  the  Member 
States and for industry. The effect of Article 6(2) remaining unchanged would either involve 
the labelling of batteries that are still on the market and not labelled with the wheeled bin and 
chemical  symbols  or  withdrawing  them  from  the  market.  This  would  also  involve  the 
withdrawal from the market of specific portable batteries that contain more than the cadmium 
allowed  by  Article  4  of  Directive  2006/66/EC,  and  appliances  that  do  not  comply  with  the 
requirement of making batteries removable as set out by Article 11 of this Directive.  
The content of Article 6(2) was already included into the Commission's original proposal1 for 
Directive 2006/66/EC. The Commission's intention was not to withdraw the batteries from the 
market  after  26  September  2008  that  were  legally  placed  on  the  market  before  this  date. 
Therefore, the Commission proposes to clarify this provision and thus provide legal certainty 
on  this  matter  in  order  to  avoid  the  situations  of  diverging  legal  regimes  between  Member 
States  amounting  to  problems  of  mutual  recognition  and  of  internal  market  disruption. 
Considering  that  this  clarification  should  intervene  before  26  September  2008,  this  is 
proposed as ‘fast track action’ to reduce the administrative burden mentioned above. 

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Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

This proposal aims at modifying Article 6(2) of Directive 2006/66/EC. 

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Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 

The  proposal  is  included  as  a  fast  rack  action  under  the  ‘Commission  Communication  on 
2008 Fast Track Actions to reduce administrative burdens in the European Union’. 2 

The proposal is in line with the Commission Communication on ‘Taking the sustainable use 
of resources forward: A Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste’3, where 
one  of  the  main  objectives  is  waste  prevention  in  line  with  the  goal  of  increased  resource 
efficiency. 

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COM(2003)723 final 
COM(2008)141 
COM(2005)666 final 

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2) CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESMENT 

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Consultation of interested parties 

Formal  consultation  of  the  interested  parties  did  not  take  place  due  to  the  urgency  of  the 
proposal, as well as because this proposal only aims at clarifying one provision of Directive 
2006/66/EC.  

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Collection and use of expertise 

There was no need for external expertise.  

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Impact assessment 

It was not deemed to be proportionate to prepare a full impact assessment for this proposal, as 
the proposal  only  clarifies  a provision of  Directive  2006/66/EC  providing legal certainty on 
this measure. An impact assessment has already been carried out in preparation of the battery 
Directive 2006/66/EC4.  

If  batteries  that  were  legally  placed  on  the  market  before  26  September  2008  need  to  be 
withdrawn from the market after this date due to non-compliance with Directive 2006/66/EC, 
this would have negative impact on the environment due to the additional waste created, new 
resources  needed  and  additional  transport  required.  The  re-labelling  and  the  withdrawal  of 
batteries  from  the  market  have  negative  economic  impacts  due  to  the  administrative  burden 
they create. 

Some estimates indicate for example that only the primary batteries that do not comply with 
the labelling requirements and would need to be withdrawn from the market would generate 
123000 tonnes of premature waste on the EU level. Estimates indicate that re-labelling only a 
section of the rechargeable batteries in the EU, batteries used in laptops, cordless power tools 
and mobile phones, to make them compliant with the labelling requirements of the Directive 
2006/66/EC would mean 400 million euros cost5.  

The  measure  proposed  does  not  lower  the  environmental  protection  aim  of  Directive 
2006/66/EC as it only clarifies the original intention.  

3) LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

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Summary of the proposed action 

The  proposal  clarifies  Article  6(2)  of  Directive  2006/66/EC.  It  makes  it  clear  that  batteries 
must not be placed on the Community market after 26 September 2008 if they do not comply 
with Directive 2006/66/EC. If they happened to be placed on the market after this date, they 
need  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  market.  The  proposal  thus  clarifies  that  batteries  lawfully 
placed on the market before 26 September 2008 and which are on the market after this date 
and  yet  do  not  comply  with  Directive  2006/66/EC,  do  not  have  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
market  or  relabelled  after  this  date.  By  clarifying  this  provision  the  proposal  provides  legal 
certainty on this matter.  

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Legal basis 

The proposal is based on Article 95 of the EC Treaty, as Article 6 of Directive 2006/66/EC is 
based on this Article.  

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COM(2003) 723 final  
Data: Industry (Recharge, Eicta, EPBA, EPTA AeA) position paper on Compliance with the batteries 
Directive 2006/66/EC, 7 March 2008 

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– 

Subsidiarity principle 

The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  as  the  proposal  does  not  fall  under  the  exclusive 
competence  of  the  Community.  The  objective  of  the  proposed  action  cannot  be  sufficiently 
achieved by the Member States, as harmonised effort is needed in order to ensure the smooth 
functioning of the internal market.  

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Proportionality principle 

The proposed action does not go beyond what is necessary as it limits itself to the sole Article 
6(2) of Directive 2006/66/EC. It therefore respects the principle of proportionality.  

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Choice of instruments 

As the proposal addresses the modification of an Article of a Directive, therefore the chosen 
instrument is also a Directive.  

4) BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget.  

5) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

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Simplification 

The  present  proposal  clarifies  and  simplifies  administrative  procedures  for  both  public 
authorities and the industry. It reduces the administrative burden of re-labelling batteries with 
the wheeled bin and the chemical symbols that were legally placed on the market before 26 
September  2008  and  are  still  on  the  market  after  this  date.  For  the  public  authorities  it 
simplifies the enforcement of the battery Directive.  

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European Economic Area 

The proposal concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic 
Area.  

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2008/0081 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on 
batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators as regards Article 6(2) 
on placing batteries and accumulators on the market 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
95 (1) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission6, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee7, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions8, 
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty9 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Article 6(2) of Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and Council10 needs 
to be clarified in order that batteries and accumulators that were legally placed on the 
market  anywhere  in  the  Community  before  26  September  2008  and  do  not  comply 
with Directive 2006/66/EC can remain on the Community market after this date. This 
clarification  would  provide  legal  certainty  for  batteries  placed  on  the  market  in  EU 
Member States and would ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market. The 
clarification  is  in  line  with  the  principle  of  waste  minimisation  and  would  reduce 
administrative burden.  

(2) 

Directive 2006/66/EC should therefore be amended accordingly. 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

Article 6(2) of Directive 2006/66/EC is replaced by the following: 

Amendment of Directive 2006/66/EC 

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 266, 26.9.2006, p. 1. Directive as amended by Directive 2008/12/EC (OJ L 76, 19.3.2008, p. 39). 

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"2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that batteries or accumulators 
that  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of  this  Directive  are  not  placed  on  the  market  after  26 
September 2008. 

If batteries and accumulators that do not meet the requirements of this Directive are placed on 
the market after this date, they shall be withdrawn from it." 

Article 2 

Transposition 

1. 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 26 September 2008. They shall 
forthwith  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  text  of  those  provisions  and  a 
correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

When  Member  States  adopt  those  provisions,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive  or  be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official 
publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 

2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

Article 3 

Entry into force 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 4 

Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President  

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