COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSIONTO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTpursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Unionconcerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
Date: 2011-08-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, electrical equipment, electronic equipment, electronic waste, environmental protection, waste management

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 11.8.2011 
COM(2011) 478 final 

2008/0241 (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 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
2008/0241 (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 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council 
(document COM(2008) 810 final – 2008/0241 COD): 

16 December 2008 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

11 June 2009 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: 

03 February 2011 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

19 July 2011 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

Specific  objectives  of  the  WEEE  recast  proposal  (2008)  were  to  increase  resource 
efficiency  and  ensure  proper  treatment  of  e-waste  by  setting  new  collection  targets 
adapted  to  the  reality  of  each  Member  State.  Further  objectives  were  to  reduce 
unnecessary  administrative  burdens  by  clarifying  that  producer  responsibilities  are 
based  on  a  European  approach,  and  to  ensure  better  implementation,  especially  by 
reversing the burden of proof on exports of used equipment suspected to be WEEE. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

3.1. 

General comments 

The European Parliament gave its opinion at first reading on 03 February 2011. The 
Commission accepted in full, in part or in principle 55 of the 86 amendments adopted 
by  the  European  Parliament  in  its  first  reading.  30  of  these  55  amendments  are 
already  reflected,  at  least  in  part,  in  the  common  position.  The  position  of  the 
Commission  on  the  amendments  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  in  its  first 
reading is set out in document SP(2011)2217. 

The Commission accepted amendments, either fully or in principle or in part, which 
would  clarify  the  context  of  the  proposal  or  further  improve  it  in  line  with  the 
objectives set. These include, in particular, the deletion of the link to the scope of the 

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Directive  on  restrictions  of  hazardous  substances  in  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment  (RoHS),  to  base  the  collection  target  on  WEEE  generated  under  certain 
conditions,  and  to  oblige  distributors  to  put  in  place  appropriate  collection  and 
awareness schemes for very small WEEE.  

The Commission rejected amendments which would alter the nature of the proposal, 
such as amendments which could lower the level of environmental and human health 
protection  or  lead  to  an  unnecessary  increase  of  administrative  burdens.  It  also 
rejected amendments that go beyond the scope of the recast procedure applied in line 
with  the  "Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  28  November  2001  on  a  more  structured 
use of the recasting technique for legal acts". 

Political agreement was reached by Member States unanimously on 14 March 2011, 
while the Commission had expressed significant reservations on the text. 

3.2. 

Detailed comments 

3.2.1.  Parliamentary amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full, in 

part or in principle in the common position 

Amendments 2, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 32, 37, 44, 45, 57, 62, 64, 65, 
66, 68, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 86, 88, 97 and 98 were accepted by the Commission and 
incorporated in full, in part or in principle in the Council's position.  

3.2.2.  Parliamentary amendments rejected by the Commission but incorporated in full, in 

part or in principle in the common position 

Amendments  14,  18,  27,  99  and  102  were  rejected  by  the  Commission  but 
incorporated in the Council's position in full, in part or in principle. Amendments 14 
and  18  relate  to  the  distinction  between  WEEE  from  private  households  versus 
WEEE from users other than private households. The Commission is not convinced 
that  this  proposed  text  increases  clarity.  Amendment  99  introduces  a  new 
requirement to adopt European standards, which can be in conflict with those parts of 
the text not subject to the recast procedure. 

3.2.3.  Parliamentary  amendments  accepted  in  full,  in  part  or  in  principle  by  the 

Commission but not incorporated in the common position 

Amendments 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 22, 23, 26, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 52, 58, 59, 60, 
69, 76, 92 and 100 were accepted in full, in part or in principle by the Commission 
but not incorporated in the Council's position. They include significant elements of 
the text concerning definitions, the collection target, measures to increase awareness 
and collection, and the adaptation of Comitology provisions to the entry into force of 
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.  

3.2.4.  Parliamentary  amendments  rejected  by  the  Commission  and  the  Council  and  not 

incorporated in the common position 

Amendments 11, 25, 35, 36, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 61, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 
74,  75,  77,  94,  95,  96  and  101  were  rejected  by  both  the  Commission  and  the 
Council.  Those  amendments  do  not  add  to  the  clarity  or  consistency  of  the  text,  or 
change those parts of the text which are not subject to the recast procedure. The latter 

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is  especially  the  case  for  amendments  47-51  and  75,  relating  to  the  financial 
obligations  of  producers.  Amendment  46  would  introduce  new  record  keeping 
requirements into the text, which are outside the scope of the recast procedure. 

3.2.5.  Changes made by the Council to the Proposal  

The Council proposed the following main changes to the Commission proposal: 

Open  scope:  The  Council  proposes  that  the  scope  shall  in  the  future,  starting  six 
years  after  entry  into  force,  include  all  "Large  equipment"  and  "Small  equipment". 
This  is  approach  is  also  referred  to  as  an  "open  scope",  because  the  scope  is  not 
limited  to  a  list  of  closed  categories  as  currently  the  case,  but  "open"  to  any  new 
equipment fulfilling the definitions of the Directive. A number of new exclusions and 
related  definitions  would  accompany  the  introduction  of  the  "open  scope".  The 
Commission  considers  that  equipment  falling  into  the  scope  of  the  Directive 
currently  should  not  be  excluded  in  the  future,  and  that  extensions  of  the  scope 
should be undertaken only if the benefits exceed the costs. As a matter of principle, 
an assessment in line with the guidelines for impact assessments is needed in order to 
ensure that these conditions are met. 

Definition of categories of WEEE: The Council replaces the current ten categories 
in  the  Annex  of  the  Directive  by  a  new  set  of  five  categories.  Currently,  these 
categories are important to define the scope of the Directive, and to differentiate the 
recovery  and  recycling  targets.  In  the  future,  the  categories  would  according  to  the 
Council not be decisive to define the scope any longer (see above "open scope"), but 
would continue to differentiate the recovery and recycling targets. The Commission 
can accept a change of the definition of these categories of WEEE, if it does not lead 
to a change of ambition level for recycling/recovery, and does not create unnecessary 
administrative burdens. 

Extension of scope to include photovoltaic panels: The Council proposes to extend 
the  scope  of  the  Directive  from  the  date  of  entry  into  force  to include photovoltaic 
panels. The Commission agrees that the collection, proper treatment and recovery of 
photovoltaic  panels  should  be  ensured.  The  Commission  has  carried  out  a  study  to 
assess  the  impacts  of  inclusion  under  the  scope  of  the  WEEE  Directive.  The  study 
indicates that there are environmental benefits and opportunities for the recovery of 
secondary raw materials. This study and the comments from stakeholders following 
it  can  be  used  for  further  consideration  on  the  potential  inclusion  of  photovoltaic 
panels in the scope of WEEE. 

National  approach  to  producer  obligations:  The  Council  applies  a  definition  of 
producer  that  builds  on  the  concept  of  national  markets.  This  national  concept  can 
lead to a situation of multiple registration, multiple payments for the same product, 
multiple requirements for treatment information and marking of products, as well the 
obligation  for  producers  to  be  legally  represented  in  more  than  one  Member  State. 
The  Commission  had  proposed  to  clarify  that  a  concept  based  on  the  Community 
market  should  be  used  to  avoid  such  burdens,  and  still  considers  that  a  European 
approach to the producer obligations should be agreed. This applies especially to the 
obligations of cross-border distance sellers. 

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Collection  target:  The  Council  requires  Member  States  to  achieve  the  collection 
target of 65% of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market eight years 
after  entry  into  force  of  the  Directive.  Compared  to  the  Commission  proposal,  this 
implies a delay of about four years. For eight Member States, two years of additional 
flexibility are foreseen. The Commission considers that transitional arrangements to 
take  account  of  specific  national  circumstances,  as  already  included  in  the 
Commission proposal, can be further elaborated in the text. However, in view of the 
need  to  act  decisively  in  favour  of  increased  resource  efficiency  and  access  to 
secondary raw materials, it is important to keep an ambitious collection target both as 
regards  the  level  and  the  moment  of  entry  into  force.  Therefore,  the  Commission 
cannot  accept  to  delay  the  year  the  collection  target  needs  to  be  achieved.  The 
Commission  can  agree  to  the  Council's  intention  to  treat  mercury  containing 
fluorescent lamps as priority products for separate collection, for which a dedicated 
collection target could be established in the future. 

Development of standards: The Council requires that the Commission shall develop 
minimum  standards  for  the  treatment  of  WEEE  on  the  basis  of  Article  27  of 
Directive 2008/98/EC. The Commission does in principle see benefits in establishing 
standards  for  the  treatment  of  WEEE,  and  is  currently  supporting  a  project 
developing  such  standards  to  be  used  on  a  voluntary  basis.  However,  the 
Commission  considers  that  the  new  text  on  standards  can  be  in  conflict  with  those 
parts of the text not subject to the recast procedure.  

Adaptations  related  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union 
and other issues: The Council foresees implementing acts for Articles 7, 16, 23 and 
Annex VI. The Commission considers that these should be delegated acts in line with 
the  Commission  proposal.  The  requirement  for  the  Commission  to  consult 
stakeholders  before  the  adoption  of  a  delegated  act  should  be  mentioned  in  the 
respective  recital  only,  and  deleted  in  the  enacting  terms  of  the  Directive.  The 
Council  has  deleted  the  reference  to  a  correlation  table  of  transposition,  which  the 
Commission  considers  necessary  in  order  to  monitor  the  transposition  of  the 
Directive  in  a spirit of Smart Regulation, in line with Commission  Communication 
COM(2010)543. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

Not all changes introduced  by the Council are consistent with the  objectives of the 
Commission's proposal, in particular with regard to resource-efficiency, the need to 
recover secondary raw materials, and the need to reduce unnecessary administrative 
burdens.  Therefore,  the  Commission  can  not  accept  the  Council's  position  in  its 
entirety. 

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