Don’t drop plans for energy and resource efficient products, Coolproducts campaigners ask the European Commission.
The European Commission might drop long-planned energy requirements that would oblige manufacturers to produce electrical goods that do the same job while wasting less energy and resources, according to a source inside the EU executive.
Products include TVs, washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and more.
The institution’s highest ranked officials were expected to decide on the future of a package of Ecodesign measures in a meeting behind closed doors on Friday, September 28.
Should we have a negative outcome after the meeting, the negotiations around the adoption of these measures might be delayed for at least two years until the next Commission takes over.
A decision to drop the existing plans would hinder energy and monetary savings for consumers as well as the creation of thousands of new jobs. It would also affect competition for those businesses that had already anticipated a shift in the market.
EU Member States were due to discuss the requirements by the end of the year. While supporting energy efficiency requirements, some countries were set to oppose proposals to improve repairability and recyclability, Coolproducts campaigners revealed last week. [5]
As things stand countries will not have the opportunity to vote on the proposals any time soon.
This is why we say: “Save the Package!”
This decision as to the fate of the Package should have been taken on 28 September, as part of a centralised process within the European Commission. As a result, the final decision as to a number of delegated and implementing acts might be left to the next Commission, which will not be in place until late 2019.
Repetitive delays as experienced over the last years come at a cost for all: costs of lost savings for citizens and the climate, costs of uncertainty and late return on investments for the industry, and costs of resource mobilisation for civil servants involved in policy-making. These measures are crucial to implementing EU climate, energy and circular economy objectives.
Also worth noting, both the European Parliament and the Council have called for a timely implementation of an ambitious Ecodesign policy: see the 2016 Council conclusions or the 2018 European Parliament report on Ecodesign.
