Europe: the first successes of the Belgian presidency
Belgium has now held the presidency of the Council of the European Union for three months. This is an opportunity to take stock at the halfway stage of the initial successes in the environmental sector, as well as the issues on the agenda and the next steps.
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First successes in environmental legislation
The first three months of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union have been intense, leading to several trialogue agreements.
What is a "trilogue"?
Trilogues take place at the end of the legislative process. They are meetings that bring together representatives of the European Parliament and the Council (co-legislators), as well as the Commission (mediator between the parties). A trilogue agreement means that the legislative text is acceptable to both the Council and the Parliament. Once this agreement has been reached, the text still has to be formally approved by the two co-legislators. The European law is then published in the Official Journal of the EU.
The Belgian presidency has been able to conclude European negotiations on the following dossiers:
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Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: the revision of this 1991 directive aims to protect our environment by more efficiently monitoring our urban wastewater. What do we mean by "urban wastewater"? It is typically household and industrial wastewater. It also applies to runoff accumulated after a storm, for example. The revision introduces a system of extended producer responsibility. The goal is to ensure that the most polluting sectors make a fair contribution to wastewater treatment intended to eliminate micropollutants.
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Regulation to tighten CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles: this introduces new rules to ensure that new heavy-duty vehicles emit on average 15% less CO2 between 2025 and 2029 compared to 2019 emission levels. From 2030 onwards, they will be required to emit on average 30% less CO2. Those targets are binding and new in European environmental legislation. Truck manufacturers which do not comply will have to pay a financial penalty.
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Air Quality Directive: the new directive defines strengthened European air quality standards for 2030 in the form of limit values that are closer to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. These standards will be regularly reviewed. It is a big step towards improving the quality of the air we breathe! In the Brussels-Capital Region, outdoor air quality has improved significantly in recent decades. With the policies implemented in the last few years, such as the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and the RENOLUTION programme to improve building quality, the Region is well on the way to meeting these new standards, which must also be transposed into Brussels legislation in the coming months.
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Regulation on packaging and packaging waste: this aims to make the packaging used in the EU safer and more sustainable by requiring all packaging to be recyclable by 2030, minimising the presence of harmful substances, reducing unnecessary packaging, encouraging the use of recycled containers and improving collection, reuse and recyclingElke nuttige toepassing waardoor afvalstoffen opnieuw worden bewerkt tot producten, materialen of stoffen, voor het oorspronkelijke doel of voor een ander doel. Dit omvat het opnieuw bewerken van organisch afval, maar het omvat niet energieterugwinning, noch het opnieuw bewerken tot materialen die bestemd zijn om te worden gebruikt als brandstof of als opvulmateriaal.. In practical terms, this means doing away with individual portions of sauces (in plastic packaging) in restaurants by 2030 and promoting reusable packaging. And for certain disposable drinks packaging, there will be either 90% selective collection or a deposit system set up.
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Regulation for a European carbon removals certification framework: this aims to facilitate the deployment of carbon reduction and elimination activities, combat greenwashing and contribute to climate neutrality within the EU by 2050.
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Mercury Regulation: addresses the residual remaining uses of mercury in products within the EU and aims to phase out the use and export of dental amalgams and mercury-containing products, with a view to establishing a mercury-free Europe.
Files on the agenda
A series of texts are still being analysed or negotiated within the Council:
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revision of the Waste Framework Directive for textiles and food waste,
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Directive on Soil Monitoring for sustainable soil management in the EU,
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Directive on Priority Substances in Water,
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regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and end-of-life,
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regulation on the prevention of plastic pellet losses to combat microplastic pollution.
More specifically, representatives and experts from the 27 Member States are currently working, or will shortly be working, on these texts. This involves a technical analysis followed by political negotiations.
Would you like more information? You can find the main results and review the public sessions on the Council of the EU website.
Next steps
The next presidency will ensure continuity of work, in line with the practice of rotating presidencies. On 1 July 2024, Hungary will take over from Belgium as the next President of the Council of the EU.
Will the European elections have an impact on the negotiations?
After the last plenary session of the current European Parliament (25 April) and following the European elections on 6-9 June, it will be for the new Parliament to begin inter-institutional negotiations (trialogues), and the next country to hold the presidency of the Council (Hungary) to take over the reins on 1 July 2024. Files still in progress during the Belgian presidency will not be forgotten!