Simplification: ENVI committee to lead on Environmental Omnibus proposals

The European Parliament has allocated committee responsibilities for the Commission’s December Omnibus package.

In a meeting of the Conference of Presidents, political group leaders assigned the Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) lead responsibility for the Environmental Omnibus proposals.

These include measures to accelerate environmental assessments and to reduce administrative burdens across a range of EU environmental legislation.

ENVI will also lead on the proposal to extend the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to certain downstream goods, as well as on the establishment of a temporary decarbonisation fund as proposed by the Commission in the context of its Clean Industrial Deal. The Industry Committee (ITRE) will contribute through opinions on the relevant files.

Discussions on competitiveness and regulatory streamlining are intensifying at EU level.

At an informal retreat in February, EU leaders focused on strengthening competitiveness, deepening the Single Market and advancing the Union’s simplification agenda, with a view to agreeing concrete measures at the March European Council meeting.

Discussions also focused on exploring the concept of a “28th regime” to facilitate cross-border business activity, and mobilising both private and public investment to reduce strategic dependencies and reinforce critical industrial sectors.

The informal council meeting took place a day after the Antwerp Industry Summit, where both industry and policy leaders raised concerns over Europe’s chemicals and plastic industries being able to compete with other regions, warning among other things of global overcapacity and weak market conditions.

These challenges are also evident in secondary plastic markets: recyclers still struggle to sell recyclates, with stocks building up amid weak demand and competition from low-cost virgin plastics.

As such, prices for refurbished drums and intermediate bulk containers have dropped to very low levels to keep up with newly produced containers made from primary raw materials.

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