Why Meloni is happy about the European packaging regulation
Unanimous approval on the European packaging regulation. The Italian government and industry toast. Facts and comments
The European packaging regulation also passed the judgment of the ambassadors of the 27 EU states, who approved it unanimously.
For the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, "we have demonstrated that today in Brussels there is an Italy that does not give in to solutions that penalize our industry, but that is capable of continuing to negotiate until the end in a decisive manner, doing assert the validity of one's arguments, enhancing our excellence and managing to substantially modify the final result".
NO TO WASTE, YES TO RECYCLING AND REUSE
“No to waste created by packaging, yes to recycling and reuse”, this is a summary of the decision contained in the European regulation for packaging, confirmed today by the ambassadors of the EU countries after having already reached an agreement between the Council, Parliament and the EU Commission . It will now be formalized by the European Parliament and the ministers of the Twenty-Seven.
The new directive, reports the Belgian presidency, “addresses the increase in packaging waste, while harmonizing the internal market and promoting the circular economy”.
According to what leaks from diplomatic sources regarding the approval of the agreement, Malta and Austria have reserved the scrutiny.
MELONIAN PRIDE
Meloni welcomed the outcome with great satisfaction: "The credit for these successes must be attributed to the impetus action ensured by the Ministries involved, in close coordination with Palazzo Chigi, to the negotiating activity conducted by our diplomatic representatives in Brussels, but also to the crucial teamwork carried out by our MEPs, who were able to cut across political lines".
“In this sense – the Prime Minister specified -, special thanks go to Massimiliano Salini and Patrizia Toia, who carried out decisive work during the trialogue in building consensus in support of the national positions on the packaging dossier. We have demonstrated how a cohesive and determined Italy can truly shift the balance in Brussels and play a leading role."
THE ROLE OF ITALY
From Palazzo Chigi it was then underlined that the decision "follows complex negotiations in which Italy played a crucial role by providing a leading contribution to finding the right balance between environmental objectives and competitiveness of companies and between harmonization and valorisation of successful national experiences".
“The provision – states the note – will also commit Member States to reducing waste, leaving, as we hoped, flexibility to States and operators in choosing measures to achieve the objective, in particular between reusable packaging and recyclable single-use packaging , where the latter, as in the case of the catering sector, still represent the option that offers the best environmental result and for the conservation of agricultural and food products".
IN DEFENSE OF THE ITALIAN INDUSTRY
Palazzo Chigi then points out that "the approved amendments incentivize technologies in which we are investing, such as chemical recycling, safeguard sectors in which our companies have increased the recyclability of packaging, in which we are at the forefront, such as that of compostable plastics, or in to which we export excellent products, such as wines, sparkling wines, vermouth and spirits".
“In waste management – continues the note -, freedom of choice is granted between the adoption of the security deposit and the maintenance of virtuous models of separate collection, like the Italian one. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will help ensure that the supply chains of major European businesses are as respectful of human rights and environmental sustainability as possible.”
“Italy – Palazzo Chigi claims – has played a key role in achieving a balanced and effective text, which concentrates the burdens on large companies (over 1,000 employees and 450 million in global turnover) better able to monitor its supply chains and to contribute to the mitigation of the effects of economic activities on climate change, as well as to the protection of the human rights of the people affected by the business activity".
COLDIRETTI REJOIES THE PRINCIPLE OF RECIPROCITY
Satisfaction also for Coldiretti, who particularly appreciated that the EU directive on packaging provides for the application of the principle of reciprocity, "an important signal to extend to all levels the concept that all goods entering the EU must respect the same rules to which European producers are subjected."
“The agreement reached unanimously between the member states – explains Coldiretti – safeguards the principle of reciprocity for plastic packaging placed on the EU market, through equivalence rules for recycled plastic. The agreement reached, although not containing all the positive aspects compared to the position of the European Parliament, represents an important step forward on the Commission's initial proposal which would have had a devastating effect on Italian agri-food companies".
The only observation made by the association concerns, however, the exceptions to member states which risk "fragmenting the European market making it complex for exporters".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-meloni-gioisce-per-il-regolamento-europeo-imballaggi/ on Sat, 16 Mar 2024 07:10:29 +0000.