NEWSLETTER N° 205 – 10 FEBRUARY 2025

Time is ticking, and as the presentation of the Omnibus Regulation draws closer, the buzz is getting louder! From NGOs to investors, everyone is scrambling to make their voices heard, hoping to shape what’s quickly becoming the most talked-about legislation in town.

Will it live up to the hype? Will last-minute surprises shake things up? One thing’s for sure: everyone’s watching. 

Chemical recycling: On 3 February, the Commission announced that it had approved a 500 million euros state aid scheme to support chemical recycling of plastic waste in France.

Omnibus Regulation – NGOs joint statement : On 5 February, a closed consultation on the Omnibus Regulation took place. In response, more than 40 NGOs and researchers wrote to the Commission to remind the institution of its obligation to ensure ‘open, transparent and regular’ dialogue with the public. 

Omnibus legislation – Investor joint statement : On 4 February, more than 200 investors published a press release addressed to the European Commission. 

Platform on Sustainable Finance – report: On 5 February, the Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance published a report that makes four core proposals to the European Commission for simplifying taxonomy reporting. 

PFAS: A French observatory (ATMO) measured concentrations of PFAS in ambient air in two urban sites, both near plants producing PFAS. 

Waste lithium batteries best practices: FEAD in cooperation with BMRA, EERA, EBRA, EUCOBAT, EuRIC, Insurance Europe, RECHARGE, WEEE Forum, have published an industry guide on the best practices for the collecting, handling and treating waste lithium batteries. This work builds on studies and research carried out in 2019 and 2020 by the industry and the Batteries Roundtable about the growing issue of fires associated with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE/ewaste) that contain lithium batteries, to present measures to address the problem.

End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs): On 29 January, the European Parliament published its first draft report on ELVs proposal for a Regulation. FEAD, in collaboration with EuRIC, published a joint statement to call for more straightforward signals towards automotive circularity.

Delivering the EU Green Deal – JRC Study: On 30 January, the JRC, the European Commission’s research centre published a report titled ‘Delivering the EU Green Deal‘. 

January infringement procedures: On 31 January, the European Commission announced new infringement decisions against Member States. 

International Plastics Treaty: The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee met on 21 January to prepare for the next steps, since no agreement was reached in South Korea in December. According to the meeting minutes, discussions are still ongoing regarding the location and timing of the next meeting. 

Commission report on state of water in the EU: On 4 February, the Commission published two reports on water management for Member States to improve water quality in Europe. The first evaluates the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the Flood Risk Management Directive; the second evaluates the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. 

Water Resilience: The European Commission launched two consultations on 4 February: the first concerns its future strategy on water resilience, the second the ‘guidelines’ for a ‘water efficiency first’ principle. These consultations are open until 4 March. 

European Commission – Shein: Following the Commission’s announcement of an investigation into Shein, it announced on 6 February that it had sent a request for information (RFI) to the company under the powers granted by the Digital Services Act (DSA). 

FEAD News: On 4 February, FEAD, in cooperation with five other associations, organised a conference on ‘Implementing Waste Legislation’. Find the press release on the event here.
On 6 February, FEAD and MerieuxNutrisciences organised a webinar on PFAS. If you missed it and want to catch up, please find the recording here.
FEAD is participating to the organisation of a series of events in February:  

• Hazards Out | Workshop 1 on 11 February from 2pm to 3.30pm. More information here. 
• The GRINNER Project and Batteries Roundtable Members (WEEE Forum, EuRIC, FEAD, EUCOBAT, Municipal Waste Europe, WEEELABEX) are organising a roundtable on ‘The challenges of lithium battery fires in the management of e-waste’ on 18 February in Brussels. More information here.