Committee on Petitions NOTICE TO MEMBERS

Transcription

1 European Parliament Committee on Petitions NOTICE TO MEMBERS Subject: Petition 065/203 by Maurizio Benedetto (Italian) and 25 co-signatories concerning waste management in Calabria (Italy). Summary of petition The petitioner expresses concern at the inefficiency of waste management and disposal in the region of Calabria. As in other regions of southern Italy, this is taking the form of emergency containment and nothing is being done to reduce the amount of waste being produced. He indicates that no biological waste processing is taking place and that the separate waste collection announced by the local authorities is remaining a dead letter. 2. Admissibility Declared admissible on 22 November 203. Information requested from Commission under Rule 26(6). 3. Commission reply, received on 28 February 204 The Commission is aware of the acute and persistent problems of waste management in the Southern regions of Italy, including the region of Calabria. As part of a compliance-assistance seminar held in 202, the Commission published in 203 a roadmap specific for the Italian Southern regions. The main recommendations issued by the Commission identify the need to: - Provide waste management planning based on options in line with the waste hierarchy and by making use of the appropriate economic instrument in order to qualify for EU funding CM\63622.docx PE v06-00 United in diversity

2 ( ). Such EU funds should primarily support waste separate collection and recycling of waste with a view of meeting the recycling targets. - Progressively increase the existing landfill tax to levels necessary to effectively divert waste from landfills. Use revenues to support separate collection and alternative infrastructure. - Use (part of) the landfill tax to boost local programmes and schemes for separate collection necessary to achieve the national target of 65% by 202 and recycling. Introduce PAYT scheme as necessary in order to help prevent waste generation. - Ensure full compliance with the legal obligation on pre-treatment of waste before disposal in order to make disposal less cost-competitive. - Facilitate the (re-)establishment of the ATO (Optimal Territorial Units) or similar entities for a coordinated planning of treatment and disposal sites so that municipalities can join/plan efforts and reduce waste management costs while providing legal certainty for private operators. Define capacity building programmes for local decision-makers in order to facilitate the exchange of good practices. - Update the establishment of SISTRI as a tool to prevent illegal practices related to waste management. Currently, the Commission is following up on progress in this field through the scrutiny of the waste management performance of the Italian regions in the context of the next programming period ( ) of the EU Cohesion Policy. In particular, one of the ex-ante conditionalities that need to be fulfilled in order to request for EU funding is the legal compliance of national and regional waste management plans with Article 28 of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. It should also be noted that, in the framework of infringement procedure 2003/2077 regarding illegal landfills in Italy, the Court's ruling of 26 April 2007 (C-35/05) recognised that Italy did not comply with EU legislation concerning the safe disposal of waste. A recent assessment of the situation shows that over 200 landfills still have to be cleaned up, among which several sites in Calabria. Since the Court's ruling of 2007 has not yet been fully complied with, in October 202 the Commission decided to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union for the second time under Article 260 TFEU (case C-96/3). This case is pending before the Court. In the course of 204, the Commission envisages undertaking an in-depth analysis of the current waste management plan for the region of Calabria. Should this detect any shortcomings, the Commission would proceed with an investigation accordingly. 4. Commission reply (REV), received on 30 January 205 The petitioner considers that, in order to improve the waste management situation in the Calabria OJ L PE v /6 CM\63622.docx

3 region, including several illegal landfills, it is important that the new Calabria Waste Management Plan ("WMP"), which is currently being drafted, complies with the requirements foreseen by EU law and is actually implemented. The petitioner criticises the guidelines approved by the Calabria regional government in 203 in view of drafting the new WMP : while acknowledging that these guidelines mark an improvement in that they foresee an increase in separate collection and a decrease in the amount of waste to be landfilled, the petitioner considers that this is not enough and complains that the public is not being consulted on what the content of the new WMP should be. Relevant to this case are in particular Directive 200/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment ("SEA Directive") 2 and Directive 2008/98/EC on waste ("Waste Framework Directive") 3. The SEA Directive foresees that certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment must be subjected to an environmental assessment (socalled Strategic Environmental Assessment or SEA). The Directive further foresees that the SEA procedure must be carried out before the plan or programme is adopted and that the public must be consulted in the framework of the SEA procedure. The Waste Framework Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste as well as by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use. In particular, Article 4 of the Directive provides that the following waste hierarchy shall apply as a priority order in waste management legislation and policy: (a) prevention; (b) preparing for reuse; (c) recycling; (d) other recovery, e.g. energy recovery; and (e) disposal. Article 28 of the Directive requires Member States to adopt waste management plans which must comply with certain standards, including the waste hierarchy foreseen by Article 4 of the Directive. Under Article 3 of the Directive, waste management plans must be subjected to an SEA procedure, including consultation of the public, before they are adopted. The Commission observes that, since the new Calabria WMP is still being drafted and has not yet been adopted, there is no breach of the SEA Directive. As regards the obligation to adopt waste management plans compliant with the Waste Framework Directive, the Commission would like to point out that it has already launched an own-initiative investigation aimed at ascertaining that all the Italian regions, including Calabria, have waste management plans compliant with the Waste Framework Directive. Finally, as concerns the issue of illegal landfills in Calabria, the Commission points out that, in the framework of an infringement procedure that it has opened in 2003, regarding numerous illegal landfills in the whole of Italy, the Court of Justice of the EU has condemned Italy, in its judgment of 2 December 204, to pay penalties for failing to clean up the sites covered by the case, including several sites in Calabria. "Linee guida per la rimodulazione del Piano regionale di gestione dei rifiuti della Regione Calabria" contained in decision 49 of /2/ Directive 200/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 200 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (OJ L 97, 2/07/200, p. 30). 3 CM\63622.docx 3/6 PE v06-00

4 Based on the information available, the Commission cannot identify a breach of EU environmental law in relation to the future Calabria Waste Management Plan. However, in the framework of its ongoing own-initiative investigation, the process of adoption of this plan will be monitored. In addition, the Commission will monitor the execution of the above-mentioned judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU, including the clean-up of the relevant illegal landfills in Calabria. 5. Commission reply (REV. II), received on 30 June 205 In 204 the Commission launched an own-initiative investigation (EU Pilot) aimed at ascertaining that all the Italian regions, including Calabria, have waste management plans compliant with the Waste Framework Directive. Within the above investigation, in March 205 the Italian authorities confirmed that the Calabria waste management plan is being drafted. The Commission will continue monitoring the adoption of waste management plans in all the Italian regions, including Calabria. 6. Commission reply (REV III), received on 29 April 206 In August 205, the Commission decided to launch an infringement procedure (205/265) aimed at ascertaining that all the Italian regions, including Calabria, have waste management plans compliant with the Waste Framework Directive 2. Within the above procedure, in December 205, the Italian authorities confirmed that the Calabria waste management plan is under revision and should be approved by October 206. In the framework of the abovementioned infringement procedure, the Commission will continue monitoring the adoption of waste management plans in all the Italian regions, including Calabria. 7. Commission reply (REV IV), received on 3 October 207 In the framework of an infringement procedure (205/265) aimed at ascertaining that all the Italian regions have waste management plans compliant with the Waste Framework Directive 3, the Commission has been informed of the adoption (December 206) and has received the notification (February 207) of a revised waste management plan for the Region Calabria, covering the period PE v /6 CM\63622.docx

5 Waste management in Calabria is included in another infringement procedure (2003/2077) concerning irregular landfills spread over the whole Italian territory. In Calabria there are 23 such landfills. In the framework of the ongoing infringement procedures, the Commission intends to verify that the irregular landfills still existing in Calabria are duly rehabilitated and that the waste management plan works effectively and in compliance with the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive. 8. Commission reply (REV V), received on 2 September 208 In the additional information recently presented to the Commission, the petitioner points out the existence of numerous illegal landfills in the Region of Calabria and the infiltration of organized crime dealing especially with the traffic of hazardous special waste, including toxic and radioactive waste. The identification and repression of crimes linked to illegal trafficking of waste falls under the remit of the national authorities. In March 208 the crime of illegal trafficking of waste has been expunged from the Environmental Code (Article 260 of the D. Lgs 2006/52) and inserted, as article 452 quaterdecies, in the Title VI bis of the Criminal Code (entitled "Crimes against the environment"), to confirm the gravity of this conduct. Moreover, pursuant to the elements provided by the petitioner, the Italian authorities have been looking into several suspicious cases of trafficking of radioactive and toxic waste. Therefore, it appears that the Italian authorities are actively investigating and persecuting these alleged offences. As concerns the existence of several irregular landfills in Calabria, this Region is included in the infringement procedure (2003/2077) covering a number of irregular landfills spread over the whole Italian territory. After a first judgement declaring that Italy had failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law, Italy has been condemned by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to pay financial sanctions. At present, 2 such landfills are recorded in the Region. The Commission keeps track of other cases of irregular landfills brought to its attention by written questions, petitions or individual complaints. In case the Commission identifies a pattern of systemic or structural breach, pointing out to the re-emergence of irregular landfills, the matter will be raised with the Italian authorities. In light of the context described above, the Commission will continue supporting Italy's efforts to tackle the environmental crime through the appropriate cooperation tools. In the framework of the ongoing infringement procedure on irregular landfills, the Commission will check that the landfills covered by the CJEU's judgment in case C-96/3 are put into conformity with the relevant EU waste legislation. CM\63622.docx 5/6 PE v06-00

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