EDSO’s views on the recast proposal for a regulation on persistent organic pollutants
EDSO reached out to Members of the European Parliment’s ENVI Committee ahead of the vote on the POPs Regulation.
As electricity distribution system operators (DSOs), the proposed recast would have implications for some of our members that are specifically concerned about the text in Annex I, Part A of the regulation. This has been amended to state that: “Member States shall identify and remove from use equipment (e.g. transformers, capacitors or other receptacles containing liquid stocks) containing more than 0,005 % PCBs and volumes greater than 0,05 dm3, as soon as possible but no later than 31 December 2025.”
While the reason for the recast of the Regulation is to align the text with the Stockholm Convention, the wording proposed by the Commission is much more restrictive than what is stated in the Stockholm Convention itself, which stipulates that each party shall “endeavor to identify and remove from use equipment containing greater than 0.005 percent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 0.05 litres”.
We therefore fully support Amendment 50 of the ENVI rapporteur’s draft report which ensures full alignment between the proposed recast and the Stockholm Convention.
