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Batteries and accumulators Directive

Summary
Evaluation
Commission Proposal
Legal Act
Implementation

Overall state of play:

Evaluation – Finalised: SWD(2019)1300 on 09/04/2019
Commission proposal – Adopted: COM(2020)798 adopted by the Commission 10/12/2020 Legal act – Pending in legislative procedure: provisional political agreement reached in 2022

State of play, main conclusions, outlook

The evaluation assessed whether Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators ("the Batteries Directive") meets its objectives and contributes to the general objectives of the EU environmental policy.

The evaluation considered the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency and EU added value of the Directive's provisions and the legislation implementing it. In addition, particular attention was given to aspects for which implementation has been more challenging.

The evaluation found that the Directive delivered positive results in terms of a better environment, the promotion of recycling and better functioning of the internal market for batteries and recycled materials. However, the observed limitations in some legal provisions or in their implementation prevent the Directive from fully delivering on its objectives. Moreover, the evaluation found that the Directive may not be ready to adapt to technological developments.

Building on the evaluation findings, the Commission adopted in December 2020 a proposal to modernise the EU’s legislation on batteries.

REFIT Platform

In its opinion on the procedures for disposal charges that producers pay to cover the collection and recycling of batteries (Ref. IX.13.a), the REFIT Platform considers that there is scope for reducing administrative burden on companies in relation with the registration and reporting procedures. The REFIT Platform Stakeholder group further recommends an EU-wide information exchange system between national registries to reduce further administrative burden companies face when retrieving disposal charges/fees when selling cross-border. The REFIT Platform Government group considers it is not appropriate to create EU-wide disposal charge as the notion of producer is defined at national level and that producers of electrical and electronic equipment register in national registers to address their activities and relevant duties in each Member State. This opinion was considered in the evaluation of the Batteries directive as well as in the context of the Implementing Regulation for the Waste of Electrical and Electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive establishing a common format for registration and reporting of producers of such equipment.

State of Play:

Evaluation – Finalised: SWD(2019)1300 on 09/04/2019

Scope:

Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive 91/157/EEC

Evaluation findings:

Based on the assessment of the national reports, the Commission concludes that the Member States have adopted the measures needed to implement the Directive’s provisions.

However, the observed limitations in some legal provisions or in their implementation prevent the Directive from fully delivering on its objectives. This is particularly true as regards the collection of waste batteries or the efficiency in the recovery of materials.

Moreover, the absence of an efficient mechanism to incorporate technological developments and new usages of batteries into the Directive casts doubts on its ability to keep pace with fast technological developments in this field.

Further work should particularly aim to identify and assess the feasibility of measures to improve the Directive’s impact on environmental protection, the proper functioning of the internal market, the promotion of circular economy and low carbon policies and the ability to adapt to technological and economic developments.

Estimated savings and benefits

The availability of monetised data on e.g. costs and benefits of different sectors or of battery production value chains has been very limited. The gaps in the information needed to assess efficiency are particularly significant. They include:

• costs and benefits for operators resulting from the ban of NiCd batteries in cordless power tools;

• costs and benefits for recyclers compared with other sectors (manufacturers, retailers);

• costs and benefits from restricting the use of hazardous metals in batteries for the recycling sector; and

• additional costs due to the classification of waste batteries as hazardous waste (e.g. Member States where all batteries are classified as hazardous waste versus Member States where not all batteries types are classified as hazardous waste).

Assessing the monetary costs of implementing the Directive has not been possible. The Directive's benefits have also been assessed qualitatively considering as well the fact that not all effects can be attributed to the Directive, but rather to normal market activities.

State of Play

Adopted: COM(2020)798, 10/12/2020

Which objective(s) will the Commission pursue?

On 28 May 2020, the European Commission published its Inception Impact Assessment (IIA) to modernize the EU’s batteries legislation, in particular Directive 2006/66/EC of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators, and waste batteries and accumulators (the so-called “Batteries Directive”).

The initiative is linked to the European Green Deal, which promotes the decarbonisation of the EU economy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The proposal built on the evaluation findings and the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries adopted in 2018, which promotes the growth of safe and sustainable battery production, and a better functioning of the internal market as concerns batteries, products incorporating batteries, and recycled materials.

The proposal makes maximum use of the potential of digitalisation to reduce administrative costs. For example, it proposes to set up an electronic information exchange for batteries that will hold information about every portable and industrial battery model placed on the market. A battery passport would also be produced for each individual industrial and electric-vehicle battery placed on the market. The development of both the information exchange and passport system will entail costs to both the Commission and businesses but it will provide Member State authorities and the Commission with a powerful tool for enforcing the obligations in the proposed regulation, as well as a market-intelligence tool for revising and refining obligations in the future.

The expected impact on administrative burden is expected to be limited according to the impact assessment.