Waste: common rules to apply to shipments to non OECD countries

The European Commission has been accused of demonstrating a "patronizing attitude" because it refuses to accept the decision by certain third countries not to authorize imports of Community waste. This accusation was levied by Mr Ivar VIRGIN (PPE, S), whose report on the subject was adopted. In Mr Virgin's words: "When the national authorities replied that they did not wish to import any category or certain categories of waste for recycling, one might be forgiven for thinking that they knew what they were doing." This report under the cooperation procedure relates to a proposal for a regulation on the shipment of waste to certain non-members of the OECD. The Commission is accused of a acting in a patronizing manner. The MEPs threw out the Commission proposal which stated that, "...as for the countries which replied [to the Commission's questions] that they do not wish to take some or all of the waste..., it may be that they do not realize the full import of their reply for the industrial sector". The committee considered that the Community should respect the wishes of the countries and ban the exports in question. The Commission, which feared "an undesirable and adverse impact on trade between the Community and these countries" had proposed to allow these exports to continue subject to strict conditions and the authorization of the national authorities in question for each particular shipment. It only intends to accept two of the ten amendments adopted by the committee.�