EU Parliament and Council reach a deal on WEEE recast

After lengthy discussions the European Parliament and the Council agreed to a new WEEE Directive on Wednesday. The talks were the fourth and final attempt to reach a second-reading deal on the proposed recast. Amongst others, the parties agreed on the controversial issue of a take-back obligation for small equipment which was one of the key demands of the Parliament, EU rapporteur Karl-Heinz Florenz reported. According to the new Directive, large electronic and electrical goods shops will set up collection points for used small equipment and consumers will be able to give away their used electronic equipment without an obligation to buy new equipment. The member state officials and the parliament negotiators agreed to keep the existing method of calculating the collection target until four years after the new law's expected entry into force around 2012/13. Member states would then have to meet a collection target of 45 per cent of WEEE placed on the market with the Commission's proposed target of 65 per cent becoming applicable after seven years of the new Directive's implementation in around 2020.