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Revision of the Port State Control Directive
On 1 June 2023, the European Commission presented a legislative package to modernise and reinforce maritime rules on safety and pollution prevention. The package contains proposals to revise five legal acts, including the Port State Control Directive (PSCD). The aim is to update them so that they are in line with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization and the regional organisation for port state control set up under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The proposal refers ...
Revision of the Flag State Requirements Directive
On 1 June 2023, the European Commission presented a maritime safety package, including a proposal on a revised directive for compliance with flag state requirements. Revision of the rules is needed to take account of digitalisation, improve inspections and cooperation between flag states, and align with international rules on safety, pollution prevention, and working conditions, through inspections and surveys. This is to ensure EU flag states discharge their international law obligations. The proposal ...
The European Parliament and the origins of environmental policy
Drawing on a wide array of sources and literature, this study examines the role of the European Parliament in the establishment of the European Community's environmental policy. It argues that Parliament played a key role in placing this nascent policy issue on the agenda. It influenced the definition of what the policy should include, what it should focus on, and which instruments should be used to address environmental problems. In this process, Parliament filtered ideas, issues and political objectives ...
Revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive
In July 2023, the Commission tabled a package of proposals for the greening of freight transport. Among the three proposals is one on the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive, which sets limits for heavy goods vehicles in international road transport. The proposal seeks to further promote use of zero-emission trucks by allowing these to exceed the standard weight limits. It also seeks to clarify the rules on use of heavier and longer vehicles in cross-border transport operations between ...
Ecodesign for sustainable products
Most products are not designed with their life cycle environmental impacts in mind, and it is difficult for consumers and economic operators to make sustainable choices when buying products. The EU still lacks an overarching legislative framework laying down rules for sustainable production and consumption of all products. Ecodesign refers to the integration of environmental sustainability considerations into the characteristics of a product, and into processes throughout its value chain. On 30 March ...
Plants produced using new genomic techniques
On 5 July 2023, the Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on certain new genomic techniques (NGTs). It establishes two categories of plants obtained by NGTs: plants comparable to naturally occurring or conventional plants, and plants with modifications that are more complex. The two categories will be subject to different requirements to reach the market, taking into account their differing characteristics and risk profiles. Feedback from stakeholders is mixed. While industry interest groups ...
La Commission européenne a proposé de relever le niveau de protection des consommateurs contre les pratiques commerciales déloyales. Le 19 septembre 2023, les colégislateurs sont parvenus à un accord provisoire sur la proposition visant à modifier les deux directives essentielles dans ce domaine. La commission du marché intérieur et de la protection des consommateurs (IMCO) a approuvé cet accord et le Parlement devrait mettre aux voix le texte convenu au cours de sa période de session de janvier ...
Le présent document est le résumé de l’étude sur les incendies de forêt été 2022. L’étude complète, disponible en anglais, peut être téléchargée à l’adresse suivante: https://bit.ly/47v6pKj
Circularity requirements for vehicle design and management of end-of-life vehicles
The EU's automotive sector is resource-intensive. There are 286 million motor vehicles on the road in the EU, and every year around 6.5 million vehicles become waste. If improperly managed, these vehicles may cause environmental damage and the economy may lose millions of tonnes of materials. Ensuring better sustainability and circularity of the European automotive sector would help to achieve the goals of the EU Green Deal, improve the competitiveness of the sector, and reinforce the EU's strategic ...
Sustainable use of plant protection products
Under the farm to fork strategy, part of the European Green Deal, the EU has set itself a double target: a 50 % reduction in the overall use of and risk from chemical plant protection products, and a 50 % reduction in the use of more hazardous ones by 2030. The proposal for a regulation tabled by the European Commission on 22 June 2022, which would replace the 2009 sustainable use directive, would require Member States to contribute collectively to achieving these EU-wide targets through the adoption ...