Waste management: application of directives 75/439/EEC, 75/442/EEC, 78/319/EEC and 86/278/EEC

Adopting the report by Mr Luis CAMPOY ZUECO (PPE, E), the European Parliament deplored the shortcomings and the lack of diligence displayed by the Member States in the transposition, application and implementation of Community waste legislation and recalled that they have failed to transpose Community directives on waste management, on toxic and dangerous waste, on the disposal of waste oils and on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture into national legislation. The European Parliament also called for a Community regulation on the definition of waste in Europe. In fact, the Member States continued to interpret concepts such as ?industrial waste?, ?final waste?, ?recycled raw materials? and ?special waste? differently. Parliament called on the Member States: - to give priority to the regeneration rather than the burning of waste oils, in view of the fact that 90% of waste oils can be recycled; - to forward to the Commission, at least for the 1995-1997 period, information which sought to standardise and rationalise reports on the implementation of certain Directives relating to the environment. Parliament also called on the Commission: - to propose tax incentives for the recovery of waste oils; - to initiate systematic infringement proceedings against Member States which fail to comply with all the provisions of the Directives; - to provide a quarterly list of cases against defaulting Member States taken to the Court of Justice, a list of cases already decided by the Court and a list of fines levied by the Court; - to link financial support for waste management for applicant countries to the current EU requirements. Finally, it called on the Commission and the Council to consolidate Community environment law in order to make it more transparent.�