Activities of Anne-Sophie PELLETIER related to 2022/0095(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC
Amendments (37)
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) In the absence of legislation at Union level, diverging national approaches to improving the environmental sustainability of products have already emerged, ranging from information requirements on the duration of software compatibility of electronic devices to reporting obligations on handling unsold durable goods. This is an indication that further national efforts to achieve the aims pursued by this Regulation will likely lead to further fragmentation of the internal market. Therefore, in order to safeguard the functioning of the internal market while ensuring a high level of environmental protection, there is a need for an ambitious regulatory framework to progressively introduce ecodesign requirements for products. This Regulation will, by making the ecodesign approach initially set out in Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council29 applicable to the broadest possible range of products, provide such a framework. _________________ 29 Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10).
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation will contribute to making products, as well as their lifecycle services, fit for a climate-neutral, resource- efficient and circular economy, reducing waste and ensuring that the performance of frontrunners in sustainability progressively becomes the norm. It should provide for the setting of new ecodesign requirements to improve product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, improve possibilities for refurbishment and maintenance, address the presence of hazardous chemicals in products, increase their energy and resource efficiency, reduce their expected generation of waste materials and increase recycled content in products, while ensuring their performance and safety, enabling remanufacturing and high-quality recycling and reducing carbon and environmental footprints.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Directive 2009/125/EC has been generally successful in fostering the energy efficiency and some circularity aspects of energy-related products, and its approach has the potential to progressively address the sustainability of all products. To deliver on Green Deal commitments, this approach should be extended to other product groups and systematically address key aspects for increasing the social and environmental sustainability of products with binding requirements. By ensuring that only products that meet those requirements are placed on the Union market, this Regulation should not only improve the free movement of such products by avoiding national disparities, but also reduce the negative life cycle environmental impacts of products for which such requirements are set.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) In order to create an effective and future-proof regulatory framework, it is necessary to allow for the setting of ecodesign requirements on all physical goods placed on the market or put into service, including components and intermediate products. This should allow the Commissions to take into account the broadest range of products possible when prioritising the establishment of ecodesign requirements and thereby maximise their effectiveness. Where needed, specific exemptions should be made when setting ecodesign requirements, for example for products with a particular purpose that could not be fulfilled when complying with ecodesgin requirements. In addition, exemptions should be made at the level of the framework for those products for which it is already clear that ecodesign requirements would not be suitable or where other frameworks provide for the setting of such requirements. This should be the case for food and feed as defined in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council44, medicinal products for human use as defined in Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council45, veterinary medicinal products as defined in Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council46, living plants, animals and micro-organisms, products of human origin, and products of plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction. In addition, intangible products or digital components of a product, such as software, must also support the digital sustainability of those products or components. This includes unfettered access to updates and the assurance that these updates will not adversely affect product performance. _________________ 44 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1). 45 Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 67). 46 Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on veterinary medicinal products and repealing Directive 2001/82/EC (OJ L 4, 7.1.2019, p. 43).
Amendment 120 #
(14) In order to allow the Commission to set requirements as appropriate to the product groups covered, ecodesign requirements should include performance and information requirements. Those requirements should be used to improve product aspects relevant for environmental sustainability, such as energy efficiency, durability, reparability and carbon and, environmental and social footprints. Ecodesign requirements should be transparent, objective, and proportionate and in compliance with international trade rulto the above-mentioned objectives.
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Once a delegated act setting ecodesign requirements is adopted by the Commission for a given product group, Member States should, in order to ensure the functioning of the internal market, no longer and to provide a satisfactory level of protection for the consumer and their environment, be allowed to set higher national performance requirements based on product parameters covered by such performance requirements laid down in that delegated act, and no longer be allowed to set national information requirements based on product parameters covered by such information requirements laid down in that delegated act. In order to ensure the functioning of the internal market, the Commission should be empowered to establish that no ecodesign requirements in the form of performance requirements and/or in the form of information requirements are necessary in relation to a specific product parameter.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Delegated acts including ecodesign requirements should, as was the case under Directive 2009/125/EC, undergo a dedicated impact assessment and stakeholder consultation, and should be drawn up in line with the Commission’s Better Regulation guidelines, and include an assessment of the international dimension and impacts on third countries. When doing so, the Commission should take due consideration of all aspects of the life cycle of the product and base its impact assessment on best available evidence, including that covered by Directive (EU) 2016/943. When preparing ecodesign requirements the Commission should use a scientific approach taking account of the precautionary principle as formulated in Article 191 of the Treaty, and also take into consideration relevant technical information in particular coming from Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council52, Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council53, technical screening criteria adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council54 and green public procurement criteria55. _________________ 52 Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (OJ L 27, 30.1.2010, p. 1). 53 Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17). 54 Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13). 55 Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” (COM (2008) 400)
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) To improve environmental sustainability of products, information requirements should relate to a selected product parameter relevant to the product aspect, such as the product’s environmental footprint or its durability. They may require manufacturer to make available information on the product’s performance in relation to a selected product parameter or other information that may influence the way the product is handled by parties other than the manufacturer in order to improve performance in relation to such a parameter. Such information requirements should be set either in addition to, or in place of, performance requirements on the same product parameter as appropriate. Where a delegated act includes information requirements, it should indicate the method for making the required information available, such as its inclusion on a free- access website, product passport or product label. Information requirements are necessary to lead to the behavioural change needed to ensure that the environmental sustainability objectives of this Regulation are achieved. By providing a solid and easy-to-understand basis for purchasers and public authorities to compare products on the basis of their environmental and social sustainability, information requirements are expected to drive consumers and public authorities towards more sustainable and responsible choices.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Digitalised information about the product and its life cycle or, where applicable, its passport should be easily accessible by scanning a data carrier, such as a watermark or a quick response (QR) code. Where possible, tThe data carrier should be on the product itself to ensure the information remains accessible throughout its life cycle. However, exceptions are possible depending on the nature, size or use of the products concerned.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) To ensure that the product passport is flexible, agile and market-driven and evolving in line with business models, markets and innovation, it should be based on a decentralised data system, set up and maintained by economic operators. However, for enforcement and monitoring purposes, it may be necessary that competent national authorities and, the Commission, consumer protection organisations, researchers and journalists have direct access to a record of all data carriers and unique identifiers linked to products placed on the market or put in service.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) To drive consumers towards more sustainable choices, labels should, when required by the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation, provide information allowing for the effective comparison of products, for instance by indicating classes of performance, sustainability, reparability and environmental impact. Specifically for consumers, physical labels can be an additional source of information at the place of sale. They can provide a quick visual basis for consumers to distinguish between products based on their performance in relation to a specific product parameter or set of product parameters. They should, where appropriate, also allow for the accessing of additional information by bearing specific references like website addresses, dynamic QR codes, links to online labels or any appropriate consumer-oriented means. The Commission should set out in the relevant delegated act the most effective way of displaying such labels, including in the case of online distance selling, taking into account the implications for customers and economic operators and the characteristics of the products concerned. The Commission may alsoust eventually require the label to be printed on the packaging of the product.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) Consumers should be protected from misleading information that could hamper their choices for more sustainable products. For thisese reasons it should be prohibited to place on the market products bearing a label mimicking the labels provided for in this Regulation or posing as new labels.
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
Recital 48
(48) In order to avoid the destruction of unsold consumer products, where the destruction of such products is prevalent, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by prohibiting the destruction of such products. Given the wide range of products that may potentially be destroyed without ever being sold or used, it is necessary to establish such empowerment in this Regulation. However, the prohibition set in the delegated acts should apply to specific product groups to be determined based on an assessment by the Commission of the extent to which the destruction of such products takes place in practice, taking into account the information made available by economic operators where appropriate. To ensure that this obligation is proportionate, the Commission should consider specific exemptions under which destroying unsold consumer products may still be permitted, for instance in view of health and safety concerns. To monitor the effectiveness of this prohibition and to dis-incentivise circumvention, economic operators should be required to disclose the number of unsold consumer products destroyed and the reasons for their destruction under applicable exemptions. Finally, to avoid any undue administrative burden on SMEs, they should be exempted from the obligations to disclose their unsold discarded products and from the prohibition to discard specific products groups set in delegated acts. However, where there is reasonable evidence that SMEs may be used to circumvent those obligations, the Commission should be able to require, in those delegated acts, for some product groups, that these obligations also apply to micro, small or medium sized enterprises.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article premier – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article premier – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
This Regulation establishes a framework to improve the environmental sustainability and social impact of products and to ensure free movement in the internal market by setting ecodesign requirements that products shall fulfil to be placed on the market or put into service. Those ecodesign requirements, which shall be further elaborated by the Commission in delegated acts, relate to:
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article premier – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point h a (new)
Article premier – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point h a (new)
(h a) social impact of the product and compliance with international labour standards and ILO conventions throughout its value chain.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
(m a) social impacts, including compliance with international rules on labour rights and ILO conventions;
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(n a) the impact of software upgrades on the product
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 5 – point f a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 5 – point f a (new)
(f a) Both repairers and consumers shall be provided with spare parts of equivalent or higher quality than the original parts, accessible within a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost in relation to the price of the product at the time of its purchase.
Amendment 257 #
(a a) to provide, on request, to notified bodies, non-governmental organisations and competent national authorities the available information on compliance with international labour rules and wage practices in the supply chain
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) requirements related to the functional performance of a product as well as the sustainability of that performance.
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1 – introductory part
as appropriate, require products to be accompanied by clear and understandable instructions on:
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part
The required information shall, as appropriate, be provided in at least onetwo of the following manners:
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d
(d) on a label referred to in Article 14, including through energy performance, sustainability and reparability scores;
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point h
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point h
(h) the period for which the product passport shall remain available, ensuring permanent access to this information while the product is on sale or available on second-hand markets.
Amendment 297 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) ensure that actors along the value chain, in particular consumers, consumer protection organisations, economic operators, journalists and competent national authorities, can access product information relevant to them;
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) facilitate the verification of product compliance by competent national authorities, consumer protection bodies and journalists; and
Amendment 303 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) improve traceability of products and production processes and conditions along the value chain.
Amendment 319 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) all information included in the product passport shall be up to date, based on open, standards, free of limitations laid down by the manufacturer and developed with an inter-operable format, and shall be machine-readable, structured, and searchable, in accordance with the essential requirements set out in Article 10;
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 66 to supplement this Regulation by prohibiting economic operators to destroy unsold consumer products in the Union, where the destruction of unsold consumer products falling within a certain product group has significant environmental impact.
Amendment 348 #
Amendment 394 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) informing the market surveillance authorities as soon as possible of any action taken;
Amendment 395 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) informing the competent authorities of any random compliance checks carried out, especially for the most popular products;
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Online marketplaces shall establish different contact points, accessible electronically and by phone, enabling customers and non-governmental organisations to communicate directly concerning compliance with this Regulation and the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 and to highlight any infringements.
Amendment 464 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 59 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) the environmental and social impacts of non- compliance;