To help EU citizens and businesses take full advantage of their rights, the European Commission is in constant dialogue with Member States which it considers not to be complying with EU law and, where necessary, opens infringement proceedings against them. Decisions taken today under the regular infringement decisions include 74 letters of formal notice, 19 reasoned opinions and 33 referrals to the EU Court of Justice.
(…)The Commission is asking France :
(…)
– ensure that its labelling requirements for waste sorting instructions are in line with the principle of free movement of goods. In order to be placed on the French market, products intended for households subject to an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme must be physically labelled with the “Triman logo”, a sign informing that the product is subject to sorting rules, and “info-tri”, information specifying the sorting procedures. Currently, the provision of waste sorting instructions to consumers is not governed by harmonised rules at EU level. National legislation in this area cannot create unnecessary burdens for trade in the internal market. In this context, imposing specific national labelling requirements may undermine the principle of free movement of goods and may have counterproductive effects on the environment. Such a measure may also lead to an increased need for additional labelling materials and more waste production due to the larger than necessary size of the packaging. It appears that the French authorities have not carried out a sufficient analysis of the proportionality of their regulatory choice, given that other appropriate options, less restrictive to trade between Member States, are available. France has also failed to comply with the notification requirements of the Single Market Transparency Directive, as the law was not notified to the Commission in draft form before its adoption. France now has two months to respond to the Commission’s concerns. If it fails to do so, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
For more information, see
– EU article
– Usine Nouvelle article