Today the European Parliament in the Plenary session adopted the compromise reached between the negotiators on the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive. The text was adopted by 560 votes in favour, with 35 MEPs voting against and 28 abstentions.
In the debate preceding the vote, many MEPs voiced strong support for the legislation, its role in ensuring EU leadership and contribution to transition to a circular economy. Please see below some key points from the debate:
Introducing the agreement reached with the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Rapporteur on the text MEP Ries highlighted, amongst others, that EPR principle is at the heart of the legislation. She said that there will be further progress on at least 3 issues, namely: an ambitious revision of European packaging legislation, with a quantified target for packaging reduction, an action plan against microplastics, and then a real shift for Europe to the circular economy with high-quality recycling sectors.
Vice-President Frans Timmermans commented that the legislation will put the EU at the forefront of global action, changing the way we design, consume and manage plastic packaging and waste. He said that Europeans care about this issue and want the EU to show leadership.
Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella said that the key task now is to ensure that the ambitious measures enshrined in the legislation are quickly implemented, which is a task for public authorities, producers and consumers alike. He noted that the Parliament pushed for strong provisions on EPR for waste management and clean-up of litter. Overall, he said, the Commission supports the compromise, however, he criticized the ‘no opinion clause’ in the text (provides that where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission should not adopt the draft implementing act), saying that this right should not be withheld without justification. He was also critical of the short time frames for the adoption of implementing acts, saying that the Commission has concerns about feasibility of complying with these.
There is no defined date yet for the joint signing by Council and EP. In principle, this does not have any impact on the content as such, but could delay the publication of the translated versions.