Commission ‘holding back’ ban on plastic carrier bags

MEPs concerned about delayed proposals.

A long-awaited proposal to allow member states to ban plastic carrier bags without contravening single-market rules is being held back by the European Commission’s secretary-general, according to Commission sources.

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A Commission official suggested the proposal is just one of several environmental measures being held back by Catherine Day, who before becoming the Commission’s secretary-general was its director-general for environment. She wants the Commission to focus on the eurozone crisis and growth. The Commission services can hold back proposals for a variety of reasons, including if they think the impact assessment is not adequate.

The Commission will today (7 March) publish a strategy paper on plastic waste, intended to launch a discussion on lessening its impact. But single-use plastic carrier bags are mentioned only in passing. The paper asks stakeholders if market instruments, such as putting a price on plastic carrier bags, would help cut waste.

Some member states have been waiting for the Commission to clarify whether national bans on plastic bags violate common market rules. In 2011, Austria challenged a plastic-bag ban enacted that year by Italy, because the bags are classified as packaging under the packaging waste directive, and packaging that complies with the directive’s requirements cannot be banned. The Commission launched a consultation on the issue in 2011, but has not yet answered Austria’s question.

Legal issues

Austria is seeking advice on the legality of a ban before pressing forward with its own proposals. The Commission’s environment department has prepared a legislative proposal that would allow member states to ban plastic carrier bags, but the Commission’s secretariat-general has not allowed this to enter inter-service consultation.

Industry group PlasticsEurope, which has also challenged Italy’s ban, would prefer to see a voluntary approach by retailers. It says plastic bags should be dealt with as part of the Commission’s review of the packaging waste directive due next year, not in a separate piece of legislation. “It is a container; it should be dealt with as any other container,” said Hanane Taidi, the group’s communications director.

MEPs have become increasingly concerned about the large number of delayed environmental proposals. Other items that were expected by last year include a strategy on phosphorus fertilizers, a green infrastructure initiative, a review of the sewage sludge directive and a market mechanism for lowering emissions from maritime shipping.

Earlier this year Matthias Groote, chair of the European Parliament’s environment committee, wrote to Commission President José Manuel Barroso expressing concern about the slowdown in environmental proposals.

A spokesperson for the Commission said it is not prioritising eurozone and growth proposals over other types, and that the environmental proposals simply need more time before they are ready. “The Commission is also often obliged to prioritise between the many proposals made by all of the directorates-general,” he said. “The treatment of some dossiers can therefore sometimes be delayed.”

But he said all of the environmental proposals envisaged in the Commission’s work programme will come out eventually.