31 Amendments of Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ related to 2022/0095(COD)
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The European Green Deal25 is Europe’s sustainable growth strategy that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, competitive, climate-neutral and circular economy based on toxic-free material cycles. It sets the ambitious objective of ensuring that the Union becomes the first climate neutral continent by 2050. It recognises the advantages of investing in the Union’s competitive sustainability by building a fairer, greener and more digital Europe. Products have a pivotal role to play in this green transition. Underlining that current production processes and consumption patterns remain too linear and dependent on a throughput of new materials extracted, traded and processed goods and finally disposed of as waste or emissions, the European Green Deal emphasises the urgent need to transition to a clean circular economy model and stresses the significant progress that remains to be made. It also identifies energy efficiency as a priority for the decarbonisation of the energy sector and for reaching the climate objectives in 2030 and 2050. __________________ 25 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The European Green Deal COM(2019)640 final.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) To accelerate the transition to a circular economy model, the Commission designed a future-oriented agenda in its Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe26 (CEAP), with the objective of making the regulatory framework fit for a sustainable future. As set out in this plan, there is currently no comprehensive set of requirements to ensure that all products placed on the Union market become increasingly sustainable and stand the test of safe circularity. In particular, product design does not sufficiently promote sustainability over the whole life cycle. As a result, products are being replaced frequently, involving significant energy and resource use in order to produce and distribute new products and dispose of old ones. It is still too difficult for economic operators and citizens to make sustainable choices in relation to products given that relevant information and affordable options to do so are lacking. This leads to missed opportunities for sustainability and for value-retaining operations, limited demand for secondary materials and obstacles to the adoption of circular business models. __________________ 26 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe COM(2020)98 final.
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation will contribute to making products 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, including microplastics pollution.
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) This Regulation should also contribute to achieving the Union’s wider environmental objectives. The 8th Environmental Action Programme38 enshrines in a legal framework the Union’s objective of staying within the planetary boundaries and identifies enabling conditions to achieve priority objectives, which include the transition to a non-toxic circular economy. The European Green Deal also calls for the Union to better monitor, report, prevent and remedy air, water, soil and consumer products pollution. This means that chemicals, materials and products have to be ascome safe and sustainable as possible by design and during their life cycle, leading to non-toxic material cycles39 . In addition, both the European Green Deal and the CEAP recognise that the Union internal market provides a critical mass that is able to influence global standards on product sustainability and product design. This Regulation should therefore play a significant role towards achieving several targets established under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ‘Responsible consumption and production’40 , both inside and outside the Union. __________________ 38 Decision (EU) 2022/…. of the European Parliament and of the Council of … on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 [Add reference when published in OJ – trilogue agreement 2 December 2021]. 39 As set out in the EU Action Plan Towards zero pollution for air, water and soil (COM(2021)400 final) and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (COM(2020)667 final), which calls for embracing the zero pollution goals in production and consumption. 40 Including in particular targets under SDG 12 (“Responsible consumption and production”).
Amendment 172 #
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 and carbon 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 basis for purchasers and public authorities to compare products on the basis of their environmental sustainability, information requirements are expected to drive consumers and public authorities towards more sustainable choices. It is important that relevant information, including information relating to the health, safety and rights of end-users, is always provided to the consumer prior to the purchase of the product.
Amendment 173 #
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 and easily accessible, 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 basis for purchasers and public authorities to compare products on the basis of their environmental sustainability, information requirements are expected to drive consumers and public authorities towards more sustainable choices.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Information on the presence of substances of concern, microplastics, including nanoplastics, in products is a key element to identify and promote products that are sustainable. The chemical composition of products determines largely their functionalities and impacts, as well as the possibilities for their re-use or for recovery once they become waste. The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability64 calls for minimising the presence of substances of concern in products, and ensuring the availability of information on chemical content and safe use, by introducing information requirements and tracking the presence of substances of concern throughout the life cycle of materials and products. Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council65 and other existing chemicals legislation such as Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 already ensure communication on hazards to health or the environment posed by certain substances of concern on their own or in a mixture. Users of substances and mixtures should also be informed about pertinent sustainability- related information not primarily related to hazards to health or the environment. Furthermore, users of products other than substances or mixtures, and managers of waste from such products, should also receive sustainability-related information, including information primarily related to chemicals’ hazards to health or the environment. Therefore, this Regulation should allow for the setting of requirements related to the tracking and communication of sustainability information, including the presence of substances of concern in products throughout their life cycle, including with a view to their decontamination and recovery when they become waste. Similar approach should be applied for microplastics, including nanoplastics, which are solid plastic particles composed of mixtures of polymers and functional additives, which can be deliberately added to products during manufacturing process or formed, but when in the environment, the particles accumulate and do not biodegrade. Such a framework should aim to progressively cover these particles and all substances of concern in all products listed in working plans setting out the product groups the Commission intends to tackle. __________________ 64 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment COM(2020)667 final. 65 Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (OJ L 353, 31.12.2008, p. 1).
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) In order to not unnecessarily delay the establishment of ecodesign requirements other than on the product passport or to ensure that product passports can be effectively implemented, the Commission should be allowed to exempt product groups from the product passport requirements in case technical specifications are not available in relation to the essential requirements for the technical design and operation of the product passport. Similarly, in order to prevent unnecessary administrative burden for economic operator, the Commission should be allowed to exempt product groups from the product passport requirements exceptionally in case other Union law already includes a system for the digital provision of product information allowing actors along the value chain to access relevant product information and facilitating the verification of product compliance by competent national authorities. These exemptions should be periodically reviewed taking into account further availability of technical specifications and eliminated where possible.
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) To deliver in the most efficient way on the European Green Deal’s objectives and to address the most impactful products first, the Commission should carry out a prioritisation of products to be regulated under this Regulation and requirements that will apply to them. Based on the process followed for prioritisation under Directive 2009/125/EC, the Commission should adopt a working plan, covering at least 3 years, laying down a list of product groups for which it plans to adopt delegated acts as well as the product aspects for which it intends to adopt delegated acts of horizontal application. The working plan should be publicly available and include timeline for regulatory action. The Commission should base its prioritisation on a set of criteria pertaining in particular to the delegated acts’ potential contribution to the Union climate, environmental and energy objectives and their potential for improving the product aspects selected without disproportionate costs to the public and economic operators. Considering their importance for meeting the Union’s energy objectives, the working plans should include an adequate share of actions related to energy-related products and other products such as plastic materials and chemicals, which production is energy intensive and would benefit from early transition. Member States and stakeholders should also be consulted through the Ecodesign Forum. Due to the complementarities between this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 for energy-related products, the timelines for the working plan under this Regulation and the one provided for under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 should be aligned.
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could greatly benefit from an increase in the demand for sustainable products but could also face costs and difficulties with some of the requirements. TIn order to ensure competitiveness of European SMEs, the Member States and the Commission should, in their respective areas of responsibility, provide adequate information, ensure targeted and specialised training, and provide specific assistance and support, including financial, to SMEs active in the manufacturing of products for which ecodesign requirements are set. Those actions should, for example, cover the calculation of the product environmental footprint and the technical implementation of the product passport. Member States actions should be taken in respect of applicable State aid rules.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 86
Recital 86
(86) In order to incentivise consumers to make sustainable choices, in particular when the more sustainable products are not affordable enough, mechanisms such as eco-vouchers, which should be used to purchase only products and services respecting the environment, and green taxation should be provided for. When Member States decide to make use of incentives to reward the best-performing products among those for which classes of performance have been set by delegated acts pursuant to this Regulation, they should do so by targeting those incentives at the highest two populated classes of performance, unless otherwise indicated by the relevant delegated act. However, Member States should not be able to prohibit the placing on the market of a product based on its class of performance. For the same reason, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by further specifying which product parameters or related levels of performance Member States’ incentives concern in case no class of performance is determined in the applicable delegated act or where classes of performance are established in relation to more than one product parameter. The introduction of Member State incentives should be without prejudice to the application of the Union State aid rules.
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 87
Recital 87
(87) Public procurement amounts to 14% of the Union’s GDP. To contribute to the objective of reaching climate neutrality, improving energy and resource efficiency and transitioning to a circular economy that protects public health and biodiversity, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to require , where appropriate, contracting authorities and entities as defined in Directive 2014/24/EU78 and 2014/25/EU79 of the European Parliament and of the Council, to align their procurement with specific green public procurement criteria or targets, to be set out in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation. The criteria or targets set by delegated acts for specific product groups should be complied with not only when directly procuring those products in public supply contracts but also in public works or public services contracts where those products will be used for activities constituting the subject matter of those contracts. Compared to a voluntary approach, mandatory criteria or targets will ensure that the leverage of public spending to boost demand for better performing products is maximised in all Member States. The criteria should be transparent, objective and non- discriminatory. __________________ 78 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65). 79 Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 92
Recital 92
(92) Where problematic levels of non- compliance with ecodesign requirements are observed despite the enhanced planning, coordination and support laid down by this Regulation, the Commission should be able to intervene promptly and efficiently to ensure that market surveillance authorities perform checks on an adequate scale. Therefore, in order to safeguard the effective enforcement of ecodesign requirements, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to lay down a minimum number of checks to be performed on specific products or requirements. This empowerment should be additional to the empowerment in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
Amendment 284 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point i a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point i a (new)
(ia) product packaging's durability.
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point a
(a) meets the criteria laid down in Article 57 andor is identified in accordance with Article 59(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006; or
Amendment 369 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point b – indent 9 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point b – indent 9 a (new)
— restricted substances listed in Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and substances regulated or restricted under specific sectorial and product legislation such as Directive 2009/48/EC or Directive 2011/65/EU;
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point b – indent 9 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 28 – point b – indent 9 b (new)
— substances falling under the scope of Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants and Regulation (EU) No 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants;
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 40
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 40
(40) ‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market, including through online marketplaces;
Amendment 513 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) presence of substances of concern, including microplastics and nanoplastics;
Amendment 537 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(na) Product packaging's durability
Amendment 561 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4 – point a – point i
Article 5 – paragraph 4 – point a – point i
(i) Union climate, environmental and energy efficiency priorities with the view to reach the European Green Deal´s goals, and other related Union priorities;
Amendment 567 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4 – point a – point ii
Article 5 – paragraph 4 – point a – point ii
(ii) relevant Union legislation, including the extent to which it addresses the relevant product aspects listed in paragraph 1, and the Do No Significant Harm principle, within the meaning of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852;
Amendment 634 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Amendment 654 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1 – point iii a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1 – point iii a (new)
(iiia) Information on the durability of product packaging, to provide information on the entire value chain from manufacturers to recyclers, while providing consumers with information on the environmental impact of packaging, its material and its use.
Amendment 693 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) relevant instructions for the safe use and disposal of the product;
Amendment 717 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 4
Substances of concern falling under the definition in Article 2(28), point (a), shall not be exempted from the information requirement referred to in the first subparagraph if they are present in the relevant products, their main components or spare parts in a concentration above 0,01 % weight by weight.
Amendment 786 #
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, economic operators and competent national authorities, can easily access product information relevant to them;
Amendment 845 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) consumers, economic operators and other relevant actors shall have free and easy access to the product passport based on their respective access rights set out in the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4;
Amendment 1067 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 1
Article 58 – paragraph 1
1. Requirements pursuant to Article 4, third subparagraph, point (h) for public contracts awarded by contracting authorities, as defined in Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU or Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU, or contracting entities, as defined in Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU, maywill take the form of mandatory technical specifications, selection criteria, award criteria, contract performance clauses, or targets, as appropriate.
Amendment 1092 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
The following parameters mayshall, as appropriate, and where necessary supplemented by others, be used as a basis for improving the product aspects referred to in Article 5(1):
Amendment 1115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point n
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) microplastic release, including in its nano form;