EU summit issues + Right to Repair and Green Claims + Critical raw materials

Dear reader,

When the European Council begins today, some power plays will have already been settled – those concerning the agenda. Some heads of state and government are eager to push issues such as trade and nuclear energy, or would prefer not to deal with them at all. Till Hoppe and Eric Bonse preview the most pressing summit debates.

Yesterday, the Commission was very close to the citizens with two new initiatives from the Green Deal: the Right to Repair and Green Claims. Corinna Visser took a look at the green messages that companies may or may not use in their advertising.

Under scrutiny yesterday was a Commission proposal from last week, the Critical Raw Materials Act. At our online event, Leonie Düngefeld discussed how realistic the goals of the law are with experts on raw materials policy.

Your
Manuel Berkel

EU summit: nuclear power and free trade as topics of dispute

The heads of state and government would like to avoid one contentious issue as far as possible: Negotiations on the phasing out of internal combustion engines should be concluded before the EU summit starting this morning, if possible, or at least left to the two previous opponents, German Minister for Transport Volker Wissing and EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressly supports the demand of his coalition partner that the Commission should still submit a proposal on the use of e-fuels: This was a “core component of the trilogue agreement” on the new fleet limits, according to sources close to him. However, like the Commission, Scholz believes the summit is the wrong forum to negotiate such a technical issue.

New edition of the nuclear dispute

But the Chancellor is unlikely to be able to avoid another contentious issue at the summit in Brussels: the role of nuclear energy. France’s President Emmanuel Macron, together with Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, is pushing for a strategic discussion on the importance of nuclear power for Europe’s energy supply. The German government, on the other hand, warned against such a fundamental debate in advance.

“Germany and France have already reached an agreement on the nuclear issue”, says a high-ranking government representative. At the Franco-German Council of Ministers in January, it was agreed with regard to hydrogen that nuclear power could be taken into account in the European decarbonization targets, but that this should not be at the expense of the expansion targets for renewable energies.

Scholz counters on trade policy

But that does not stop Macron from campaigning massively in Brussels to promote the nuclear industry. The president wants to “clear up misunderstandings and de-ideologize the debate”, said an EU diplomat. Macron senses his chance, as the camp of nuclear opponents around Germany and Austria has gone on the defensive. But nuclear energy is unlikely to make it into the summit conclusions – as that would require consensus.

Scholz, in turn, is likely to push a concern in the discussion on competitiveness that Macron would like to avoid: new free trade agreements with the Mercosur states and others. Summit host Charles Michel has put an “extensive exchange of views” on the importance of trade policy on the agenda for Thursday evening, which is expressly welcomed in Berlin. The German government expects this to “send a clear signal” for trade agreements and thus provide more tailwind for the EU Commission.

Mercosur deal to be in place by summer

Their negotiators are currently trying to conclude negotiations with Australia and Mercosur by the summer. In France in particular, but also in the Netherlands and Austria, there are massive concerns about higher agricultural imports from South American countries. In Berlin, on the other hand, the Greens are insisting that the obligations under the agreement to protect rainforests and workers’ rights be backed up by sanctions. However, government circles in Berlin are confident that they will be able to reach an agreement on this issue, particularly with Brazil’s President Lula da Silva.

On this occasion, the heads of state and government are also likely to talk about China. In the run-up to the meeting, rumors circulated in Brussels that Council President Michel wanted to get the CAI investment agreement out of the freezer, where it has been lying for more than two years. EU diplomats admitted that Michel was in favor of the agreement but that he was not exerting much pressure on the member states to move forward.

UN Secretary-General as guest

On Friday, Scholz and Co. will discuss the state of the monetary union. In recent years, the euro summits have been “a bit routine”, says a high-ranking EU diplomat, but this time it’s different: The heads of state and government want to know from ECB President Christine Lagarde how great the contagion risks from the bankruptcies of Crédit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank are for their own banking system. But they are not yet in the same alarm mode as during previous financial crises.

Before that, at the very beginning of the summit today, Thursday, the heads of state and government will receive a special guest: UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The talks will focus on Ukraine, but also on the grain agreement with Russia. The EU wants to assure Guterres of its support and make it clear once again that its sanctions against Russia do not pose a threat to supply security in the global south. There are enough exceptions and clarifications in the sanctions, and the financing of fertilizer and grain supplies is also secured, an EU diplomat said. “The responsibility (for problems) clearly lies with Russia”.

Ammunition for Ukraine

The summit participants also want to back the “peace formula” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It does not provide for a ceasefire followed by negotiations. The summit is thus also providing a response to the controversial 12-point plan that President Xi Jinping discussed with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin during his state visit to Moscow. However, the EU does not want to respond to this explicitly. The Russian-Chinese alliance is not mentioned in the draft summit.

Instead, the EU wants to provide even more support to Ukraine – especially in terms of arms and ammunition deliveries, according to Michel’s letter of invitation to the summit. The EU foreign ministers had decided on Monday to deliver up to one million artillery shells to Ukraine within twelve months. There had initially been a dispute over the details. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell wanted to organize the procurement through the European Defense Agency, while Germany wants to go ahead with its own industry. The summit is now planning a compromise – both are to be possible.

The sanctions against Russia and Belarus are also likely to cause discussion at the summit. They still have loopholes and leave out some important areas such as the Russian diamond trade and the nuclear industry. Also in dispute is whether there should be exceptions to the current ban on fertilizer imports from Belarus. An eleventh sanctions package is not yet on the table, said an EU diplomat. Rather, he said, the goal is to better enforce and “refine” the existing penalties. For example, those responsible for the deportation of children are to be subject to travel and asset freezes. Eric Bonse and Till Hoppe

Consumers get Right to Repair

By

Corinna Visser

The EU Commission on Wednesday proposed two directives to help Union citizens consume more sustainably. One is the Right to Repair, and the other is the Green Claims Directive. A majority of Europeans are willing to make a personal contribution to curbing climate change, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said at the launch. The Commission now wants to help them do precisely that.

Reuse instead of throw away

One of the ways to achieve sustainable consumption and a circular economy is to use products longer and repair them instead of buying new ones, Reynders explained. He pointed out that prematurely discarded products in the EU resulted in 35 million tons of waste, 30 million tons of wasted resources and 261 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Consumers lose an estimated €12 billion a year because they throw away usable products instead of repairing them (or having them repaired).

The law aims to promote and facilitate repairs and the reuse of products – both within the warranty period and afterwards. Accordingly, sellers must offer repairs even if the consumer caused the damage themself. Exception: the repair is more expensive than the replacement. Last but not least, the law also serves the strategic autonomy of the EU because it reduces the need for resources.

Matchmaking for repair stores on the net

The law provides for a consumer claim against manufacturers for the repair of products that are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines or televisions. Other instruments include: An obligation for manufacturers to inform consumers about the products they have to repair themselves. A matchmaking repair platform on the Internet where consumers can contact repairers and sellers of repaired goods in their region. A European repair information form that consumers can request from any repairer to compare quotes. And a European quality standard for repair services, whereby repairers (voluntarily) commit to minimum quality standards.

The Right to Repair – which the Commission wanted to introduce much earlier – complements other instruments that also aim to promote sustainable consumption through repairs under the Green Deal: The Ecodesign Regulation regulates the reparability of products in the production phase. The right to repair initially relates primarily to household appliances, whose reparability is regulated in the Ecodesign Regulation. Cell phones and tablets are to follow after some time.

Parliamentarians see deficits

This is where the consumer protection spokesman of the EPP Group sees a problem. “Since the Ecodesign Regulation is intended to cover much more than just household appliances in the long term, it must be clearly regulated which repairs serve sustainability and protect consumers – and which repairs would only mean higher costs”, demanded Andreas Schwab.

For René Repasi (S&D), it is crucial that companies are not allowed to charge astronomical prices so that the Right to Repair is socially acceptable. In addition, the EU Commission should propose national incentives such as repair vouchers. In the absence of such incentives, there is a danger that the right will exist only on paper.

Right to Repair coalition misses repair revolution

The Commission has missed the opportunity to concretely address the burning issues of repair affordability and anti-repair practices, Cristina Ganapini also criticizes. The coordinator of the Right to Repair Europe campaign calls for a “truly universal right to repair” that includes independent providers and ensures universal access to affordable spare parts, repair manuals and diagnostic tools. The proposed repair obligations are too narrow “to bring about the repair revolution we need”, she said.

The ZVEI, for its part, believes European harmonization is “imperative”. “It is important that there is a European framework for the right to repair and that this does not lead to different national regulations”, said Carine Chardon, Head of Consumer Division at ZVEI.

Greenwashing made difficult

Also included in the Green Deal are rules against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims. If consumers want to do something for the environment and even spend more money on it, then they should also be able to make sure that a manufacturer’s claims about the environmental properties of its product are true, said Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius.

The aim of the directive is to provide greater clarity to consumers, as well as to support companies that make real efforts to improve the environmental performance of their products.

Environmental claims are often misleading

A Commission study found that 53.3 percent of the environmental claims reviewed in the EU were vague, misleading or unsubstantiated. Examples of such claims include: “climate-neutral shipping” or “ocean-friendly sunscreen”.

Under the proposal, companies that make voluntary environmental claims about their products or services will in the future have to comply with minimum standards. These relate both to the evidence for the statements and to how they are communicated.

Regulation of eco-labels

Environmental claims covered by existing EU legislation, such as the EU eco-label or the EU organic logo for organic food, are excluded. The proposal also includes a provision for eco-labels. There are at least 230 different ones, according to Sinkevičius, leading to confusion and mistrust.

In a first reaction, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) regretted that CO2-neutrality claims were not completely banned, as well as the use of green claims for products containing hazardous chemicals. Therefore, the EEB calls on the European Parliament and national governments to prioritize these provisions in the upcoming negotiations on the directive.

Critical raw materials: 40 percent processing in the EU ‘too ambitious’

The goal of the Critical Raw Materials Act presented last week to cover 40 percent of the EU’s demand for strategic raw materials from its own processing is considered unrealistic by representatives from politics, industry and civil society. Speaking at a Europe.Table event on the new draft law on Wednesday, Hildegard Bentele (EPP) said this target in particular was very ambitious and still needed to be reviewed in the further legislative process. A “one size fits all” approach might not be able to do justice to all individual raw materials.

Daniel Quantz of the WV Metals industry association said the 40 percent target would be too much of a challenge if energy policy was not considered. “We can only continue processing here in Europe if the appropriate conditions are there”, he said.

Michael Reckordt of the NGO Powershift sees the biggest hurdle in processing 40 percent of the demand in the EU and, at the same time, maintaining the desired eye level in the strategic partnerships with third countries. The goal, he said, is naturally addressed to China, where most of the processing has taken place so far. “But in the balance of power between the EU, North America and the global South, the latter has always been the weakest in the past”, he said. As an example, Reckordt cited the EU’s WTO action against Indonesia after the country stopped exporting nickel and only wanted to process it locally. However, he welcomed the willingness on the part of Germany and Europe to invest in extending value creation locally.

Raw materials policy at top of agenda

All parties considered it positive that awareness of critical raw materials have been raised and that the topic reached the top of the political agenda. However, there are still further steps to be taken: For example, there is a lack of approval from the affected communities for mining projects in Europe.

The Commission wants to strengthen domestic mining with the legislative package and aims to generate at least ten percent of the annual demand for primary raw materials itself by 2030. To this end, approval procedures for raw materials projects and the environmental impact assessments included in them are to be accelerated and bundled.

This harbors dangers, Reckordt criticized: Environmental impact assessments would also create trust among people in the affected areas. The proposed law says little about the extent to which local people should be consulted and whether they also have the opportunity to reject projects. “In many projects in the global south where we see protests, they could have been reduced or limited in an early process”. Also, by sticking to the findings of the procedures and the environmental impact assessment, Reckordt said. Those debates are necessary and take time.

Fast raw material mining for fast developments

Affected communities must share in the benefits and advantages of such projects, explained Daniel Quantz. The example of wind turbines would show that acceptance of such projects is much higher if there are opportunities for citizen participation and sharing in the benefits – in this case, lower energy prices. However, the goal of carrying out these processes within two years, as envisaged in the draft, could be difficult.

If the EU does not want to be dependent on other regions as an industrial location, however, there is no time for such vetoes, Bentele countered. “If we are not prepared to extract raw materials faster than in ten or 15 years, we will have missed out on quite major developments here in Europe and will lose industrial jobs, and promising jobs in the clean technologies“. The alternative, he said, is not to have electric cars, wind turbines or batteries – or to import them from China. leo

Pension reform: Macron counters criticism

He has no regrets, Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview with TF1 and France 2 on Wednesday. The French President ruled out new elections or a government reshuffle, despite fierce protests and a vote of no confidence that was narrowly survived. Macron defended his pension reform, which aims to gradually raise the retirement age from the current 62 to 64 by 2030.

Today, the French live longer and work later, he explained. In addition, there was France’s high level of debt due to the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He regretted not being able to make this necessity clear.

While France is in crisis domestically, Macron is still seen externally as a reformer who strengthens the economy. To prove France’s willingness to reform, Macron accepts that the pension reform makes him unpopular: “I’m not trying to get re-elected“, he said in the interview. “Between the short-term popularity polls and the general interest of the country, I choose the interest of the country”. The French president may not be re-elected after two consecutive terms – that’s another reason he can be tough.

Protests continue

The anger of the French is normal, Macron said. This has been the case with every pension reform, he explained. He is convinced that he made the right decision. “If previous pension reforms had not gone through, the financial situation would be even more problematic”. He also confirmed Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in her post, while many critics are calling for her resignation. Borne had ensured that the President’s reform plans could be pushed through without a vote in parliament.

Macron is unwaveringly pursuing his course and stresses that the country has no right to stand still. The planned immigration law will be on the agenda in the coming weeks. Possibly as a lesson from the pension reform, he wants to proceed differently: Instead of presenting one big project, there will be several smaller texts that will be discussed individually. Macron apparently sees this as giving him a better chance of getting the legislation through. In France, it had been expected that the immigration package would be postponed because it was too sensitive.

Even before the interview, it was clear that Macron would remain firm. Addressing his ministers, he said there had been no choice but to see it through to the end. “One must not be intimidated”. He insists he has used the Constitution lawfully. Just because a text is narrowly approved, he says, does not make it illegitimate. Meanwhile, demonstrations continue in France against the pension reform. There will be another general strike on Thursday. tk/luk

Northern Ireland Protocol confirmed

The British Parliament has drawn a temporary line under the years-long dispute with the European Union over the Brexit treaty. On Wednesday, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favor of a reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with the EU. This will revamp controls on the movement of goods between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Republic of Ireland.

However, Sunak paid a high political price for the success. Twenty-two members of his conservative party voted against the plan, and 48 abstained. The new rules, on the other hand, were supported by Labor and other opposition parties.

Last month, a breakthrough was achieved after months of negotiations. The so-called Windsor Agreement mainly regulates the disputed points of tariffs and borders for the British province after leaving the EU. The actual customs border between the EU and the Kingdom remains the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland thus remains part of the EU Single Market and must comply with some EU rules. This avoids a hard border between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland. rtr

PFAS: consultation on ban launched

Six-month public consultations began Wednesday on the possible ban of “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in the EU. “The consultation is intended to give anyone with information on PFAS the opportunity to comment”, wrote the EU chemicals agency ECHA in Helsinki. After the Sept. 25 deadline, the agency plans to assess and form an opinion on a possible ban based on the available information, with the European Commission ultimately making the decision together with EU member states.

The substances in the chemical group, which is estimated to include more than 10,000 extremely persistent substances, are incorporated into everyday products such as jackets, pans and cosmetics. But they are also used in industrial processes.

Germany wants an end to perpetual chemicals

Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden proposed in January to ban the production, use and marketing of PFAS almost completely. The proposal provides for transition periods of up to thirteen and a half years, depending on the application. There would be unlimited exemptions for a few areas.

The industry is resisting a broad ban on the substances because only a few of them have been directly proven to be dangerous. However, only a few of the substances have been well-studied so far – and most of the well-studied substances are considered to be medium to highly toxic. dpa

Konrad Stockmeier – advocate of the free market

Konrad Stockmeier is an FDP member of the Bundestag, his main areas of focus: European and energy policy.

“When people go to the supermarket, it’s their free decision whether or not to put certain things in their shopping cart” – that’s how Konrad Stockmeier describes his view of the market economy. It has a lot to do with freedom, the FDP politician thinks. “That’s why the state shouldn’t constantly intervene in this process by subsidizing one product or another”. Stockmeier has been in the Bundestag since 2021, where he deals with European and energy policy. The 45-year-old would like the EU to think carefully in the future about what it invests in: “We can only spend each subsidy euro once“.

Stockmeier grew up in a parsonage in a suburb of Constance; his father later became president of the welfare organization Diakonie Deutschland. “That definitely sensitized me to sociopolitical issues”, he says in retrospect. But as a teenager, he was fascinated above all by the articles written by economics professors from the University of Constance in the local newspaper. Stockmeier studied economics and became a market researcher. The job gave him a “technical view” of the world, he says, because he was constantly able to keep up with new inventions.

Technology should develop freely

“It’s impressive how much brainpower goes into the new coating on the lid of a yogurt, for example“, Stockmeier says enthusiastically. Often, there is much more high-tech in small things than some people think. His understanding of politics also stems to some extent from this insight: “I’m very, very skeptical when government agencies think they know 15 years in advance which setscrews will bring us closer to climate neutrality“. The cogs of technical development must have free play so that they can mesh smoothly.

Stockmeier says he was a rather passive party member for a long time before a thought occurred to him in the winter of 2019: “I’d like to join a summer election campaign”. His Mannheim party friends elected him as a candidate, and he made it to No. 13 on the list. But Stockmeier didn’t expect to make it into the Bundestag for the time being because of the poll numbers. Still, it happened. “The Monday after the election, I suddenly found myself in the political arena”, he recalls. Despite the surprise, he was very pleased.

Better to promote photovoltaic research than production

Currently, he is particularly concerned with the question of how Europe will react to the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA. He takes a critical view of quotas for the domestic production of sustainable technologies: “That bears the spirit of a planned economy”. While a European response is needed, he says, it should not consist of promoting the production of standard solar modules in Europe. “We get them cheaper from other countries and they don’t give us a competitive advantage over third countries”. In his opinion, it makes much more sense to support research into the next generation of photovoltaics and the one after that. This would be something that could then also be exported. Paul Meerkamp

EUROPE.TABLE EDITORS

Till
Hoppe

Charlotte
Wirth

Falk
Steiner

Timo
Landenberger

Corinna
Visser

Lukas
Knigge

Eric
Bonse

Sarah
Schaefer

Manuel
Berkel

Lisa-Martina
Klein

Markus
Grabitz

Stephan
Israel

Claire
Stam

Dear reader,

When the European Council begins today, some power plays will have already been settled – those concerning the agenda. Some heads of state and government are eager to push issues such as trade and nuclear energy, or would prefer not to deal with them at all. Till Hoppe and Eric Bonse preview the most pressing summit debates.

Yesterday, the Commission was very close to the citizens with two new initiatives from the Green Deal: the Right to Repair and Green Claims. Corinna Visser took a look at the green messages that companies may or may not use in their advertising.

Under scrutiny yesterday was a Commission proposal from last week, the Critical Raw Materials Act. At our online event, Leonie Düngefeld discussed how realistic the goals of the law are with experts on raw materials policy.

Your
Manuel Berkel

EU summit: nuclear power and free trade as topics of dispute

The heads of state and government would like to avoid one contentious issue as far as possible: Negotiations on the phasing out of internal combustion engines should be concluded before the EU summit starting this morning, if possible, or at least left to the two previous opponents, German Minister for Transport Volker Wissing and EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressly supports the demand of his coalition partner that the Commission should still submit a proposal on the use of e-fuels: This was a “core component of the trilogue agreement” on the new fleet limits, according to sources close to him. However, like the Commission, Scholz believes the summit is the wrong forum to negotiate such a technical issue.

New edition of the nuclear dispute

But the Chancellor is unlikely to be able to avoid another contentious issue at the summit in Brussels: the role of nuclear energy. France’s President Emmanuel Macron, together with Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, is pushing for a strategic discussion on the importance of nuclear power for Europe’s energy supply. The German government, on the other hand, warned against such a fundamental debate in advance.

“Germany and France have already reached an agreement on the nuclear issue”, says a high-ranking government representative. At the Franco-German Council of Ministers in January, it was agreed with regard to hydrogen that nuclear power could be taken into account in the European decarbonization targets, but that this should not be at the expense of the expansion targets for renewable energies.

Scholz counters on trade policy

But that does not stop Macron from campaigning massively in Brussels to promote the nuclear industry. The president wants to “clear up misunderstandings and de-ideologize the debate”, said an EU diplomat. Macron senses his chance, as the camp of nuclear opponents around Germany and Austria has gone on the defensive. But nuclear energy is unlikely to make it into the summit conclusions – as that would require consensus.

Scholz, in turn, is likely to push a concern in the discussion on competitiveness that Macron would like to avoid: new free trade agreements with the Mercosur states and others. Summit host Charles Michel has put an “extensive exchange of views” on the importance of trade policy on the agenda for Thursday evening, which is expressly welcomed in Berlin. The German government expects this to “send a clear signal” for trade agreements and thus provide more tailwind for the EU Commission.

Mercosur deal to be in place by summer

Their negotiators are currently trying to conclude negotiations with Australia and Mercosur by the summer. In France in particular, but also in the Netherlands and Austria, there are massive concerns about higher agricultural imports from South American countries. In Berlin, on the other hand, the Greens are insisting that the obligations under the agreement to protect rainforests and workers’ rights be backed up by sanctions. However, government circles in Berlin are confident that they will be able to reach an agreement on this issue, particularly with Brazil’s President Lula da Silva.

On this occasion, the heads of state and government are also likely to talk about China. In the run-up to the meeting, rumors circulated in Brussels that Council President Michel wanted to get the CAI investment agreement out of the freezer, where it has been lying for more than two years. EU diplomats admitted that Michel was in favor of the agreement but that he was not exerting much pressure on the member states to move forward.

UN Secretary-General as guest

On Friday, Scholz and Co. will discuss the state of the monetary union. In recent years, the euro summits have been “a bit routine”, says a high-ranking EU diplomat, but this time it’s different: The heads of state and government want to know from ECB President Christine Lagarde how great the contagion risks from the bankruptcies of Crédit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank are for their own banking system. But they are not yet in the same alarm mode as during previous financial crises.

Before that, at the very beginning of the summit today, Thursday, the heads of state and government will receive a special guest: UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The talks will focus on Ukraine, but also on the grain agreement with Russia. The EU wants to assure Guterres of its support and make it clear once again that its sanctions against Russia do not pose a threat to supply security in the global south. There are enough exceptions and clarifications in the sanctions, and the financing of fertilizer and grain supplies is also secured, an EU diplomat said. “The responsibility (for problems) clearly lies with Russia”.

Ammunition for Ukraine

The summit participants also want to back the “peace formula” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It does not provide for a ceasefire followed by negotiations. The summit is thus also providing a response to the controversial 12-point plan that President Xi Jinping discussed with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin during his state visit to Moscow. However, the EU does not want to respond to this explicitly. The Russian-Chinese alliance is not mentioned in the draft summit.

Instead, the EU wants to provide even more support to Ukraine – especially in terms of arms and ammunition deliveries, according to Michel’s letter of invitation to the summit. The EU foreign ministers had decided on Monday to deliver up to one million artillery shells to Ukraine within twelve months. There had initially been a dispute over the details. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell wanted to organize the procurement through the European Defense Agency, while Germany wants to go ahead with its own industry. The summit is now planning a compromise – both are to be possible.

The sanctions against Russia and Belarus are also likely to cause discussion at the summit. They still have loopholes and leave out some important areas such as the Russian diamond trade and the nuclear industry. Also in dispute is whether there should be exceptions to the current ban on fertilizer imports from Belarus. An eleventh sanctions package is not yet on the table, said an EU diplomat. Rather, he said, the goal is to better enforce and “refine” the existing penalties. For example, those responsible for the deportation of children are to be subject to travel and asset freezes. Eric Bonse and Till Hoppe

Consumers get Right to Repair

By

Corinna Visser

The EU Commission on Wednesday proposed two directives to help Union citizens consume more sustainably. One is the Right to Repair, and the other is the Green Claims Directive. A majority of Europeans are willing to make a personal contribution to curbing climate change, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said at the launch. The Commission now wants to help them do precisely that.

Reuse instead of throw away

One of the ways to achieve sustainable consumption and a circular economy is to use products longer and repair them instead of buying new ones, Reynders explained. He pointed out that prematurely discarded products in the EU resulted in 35 million tons of waste, 30 million tons of wasted resources and 261 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Consumers lose an estimated €12 billion a year because they throw away usable products instead of repairing them (or having them repaired).

The law aims to promote and facilitate repairs and the reuse of products – both within the warranty period and afterwards. Accordingly, sellers must offer repairs even if the consumer caused the damage themself. Exception: the repair is more expensive than the replacement. Last but not least, the law also serves the strategic autonomy of the EU because it reduces the need for resources.

Matchmaking for repair stores on the net

The law provides for a consumer claim against manufacturers for the repair of products that are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines or televisions. Other instruments include: An obligation for manufacturers to inform consumers about the products they have to repair themselves. A matchmaking repair platform on the Internet where consumers can contact repairers and sellers of repaired goods in their region. A European repair information form that consumers can request from any repairer to compare quotes. And a European quality standard for repair services, whereby repairers (voluntarily) commit to minimum quality standards.

The Right to Repair – which the Commission wanted to introduce much earlier – complements other instruments that also aim to promote sustainable consumption through repairs under the Green Deal: The Ecodesign Regulation regulates the reparability of products in the production phase. The right to repair initially relates primarily to household appliances, whose reparability is regulated in the Ecodesign Regulation. Cell phones and tablets are to follow after some time.

Parliamentarians see deficits

This is where the consumer protection spokesman of the EPP Group sees a problem. “Since the Ecodesign Regulation is intended to cover much more than just household appliances in the long term, it must be clearly regulated which repairs serve sustainability and protect consumers – and which repairs would only mean higher costs”, demanded Andreas Schwab.

For René Repasi (S&D), it is crucial that companies are not allowed to charge astronomical prices so that the Right to Repair is socially acceptable. In addition, the EU Commission should propose national incentives such as repair vouchers. In the absence of such incentives, there is a danger that the right will exist only on paper.

Right to Repair coalition misses repair revolution

The Commission has missed the opportunity to concretely address the burning issues of repair affordability and anti-repair practices, Cristina Ganapini also criticizes. The coordinator of the Right to Repair Europe campaign calls for a “truly universal right to repair” that includes independent providers and ensures universal access to affordable spare parts, repair manuals and diagnostic tools. The proposed repair obligations are too narrow “to bring about the repair revolution we need”, she said.

The ZVEI, for its part, believes European harmonization is “imperative”. “It is important that there is a European framework for the right to repair and that this does not lead to different national regulations”, said Carine Chardon, Head of Consumer Division at ZVEI.

Greenwashing made difficult

Also included in the Green Deal are rules against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims. If consumers want to do something for the environment and even spend more money on it, then they should also be able to make sure that a manufacturer’s claims about the environmental properties of its product are true, said Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius.

The aim of the directive is to provide greater clarity to consumers, as well as to support companies that make real efforts to improve the environmental performance of their products.

Environmental claims are often misleading

A Commission study found that 53.3 percent of the environmental claims reviewed in the EU were vague, misleading or unsubstantiated. Examples of such claims include: “climate-neutral shipping” or “ocean-friendly sunscreen”.

Under the proposal, companies that make voluntary environmental claims about their products or services will in the future have to comply with minimum standards. These relate both to the evidence for the statements and to how they are communicated.

Regulation of eco-labels

Environmental claims covered by existing EU legislation, such as the EU eco-label or the EU organic logo for organic food, are excluded. The proposal also includes a provision for eco-labels. There are at least 230 different ones, according to Sinkevičius, leading to confusion and mistrust.

In a first reaction, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) regretted that CO2-neutrality claims were not completely banned, as well as the use of green claims for products containing hazardous chemicals. Therefore, the EEB calls on the European Parliament and national governments to prioritize these provisions in the upcoming negotiations on the directive.

Critical raw materials: 40 percent processing in the EU ‘too ambitious’

The goal of the Critical Raw Materials Act presented last week to cover 40 percent of the EU’s demand for strategic raw materials from its own processing is considered unrealistic by representatives from politics, industry and civil society. Speaking at a Europe.Table event on the new draft law on Wednesday, Hildegard Bentele (EPP) said this target in particular was very ambitious and still needed to be reviewed in the further legislative process. A “one size fits all” approach might not be able to do justice to all individual raw materials.

Daniel Quantz of the WV Metals industry association said the 40 percent target would be too much of a challenge if energy policy was not considered. “We can only continue processing here in Europe if the appropriate conditions are there”, he said.

Michael Reckordt of the NGO Powershift sees the biggest hurdle in processing 40 percent of the demand in the EU and, at the same time, maintaining the desired eye level in the strategic partnerships with third countries. The goal, he said, is naturally addressed to China, where most of the processing has taken place so far. “But in the balance of power between the EU, North America and the global South, the latter has always been the weakest in the past”, he said. As an example, Reckordt cited the EU’s WTO action against Indonesia after the country stopped exporting nickel and only wanted to process it locally. However, he welcomed the willingness on the part of Germany and Europe to invest in extending value creation locally.

Raw materials policy at top of agenda

All parties considered it positive that awareness of critical raw materials have been raised and that the topic reached the top of the political agenda. However, there are still further steps to be taken: For example, there is a lack of approval from the affected communities for mining projects in Europe.

The Commission wants to strengthen domestic mining with the legislative package and aims to generate at least ten percent of the annual demand for primary raw materials itself by 2030. To this end, approval procedures for raw materials projects and the environmental impact assessments included in them are to be accelerated and bundled.

This harbors dangers, Reckordt criticized: Environmental impact assessments would also create trust among people in the affected areas. The proposed law says little about the extent to which local people should be consulted and whether they also have the opportunity to reject projects. “In many projects in the global south where we see protests, they could have been reduced or limited in an early process”. Also, by sticking to the findings of the procedures and the environmental impact assessment, Reckordt said. Those debates are necessary and take time.

Fast raw material mining for fast developments

Affected communities must share in the benefits and advantages of such projects, explained Daniel Quantz. The example of wind turbines would show that acceptance of such projects is much higher if there are opportunities for citizen participation and sharing in the benefits – in this case, lower energy prices. However, the goal of carrying out these processes within two years, as envisaged in the draft, could be difficult.

If the EU does not want to be dependent on other regions as an industrial location, however, there is no time for such vetoes, Bentele countered. “If we are not prepared to extract raw materials faster than in ten or 15 years, we will have missed out on quite major developments here in Europe and will lose industrial jobs, and promising jobs in the clean technologies“. The alternative, he said, is not to have electric cars, wind turbines or batteries – or to import them from China. leo

Pension reform: Macron counters criticism

He has no regrets, Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview with TF1 and France 2 on Wednesday. The French President ruled out new elections or a government reshuffle, despite fierce protests and a vote of no confidence that was narrowly survived. Macron defended his pension reform, which aims to gradually raise the retirement age from the current 62 to 64 by 2030.

Today, the French live longer and work later, he explained. In addition, there was France’s high level of debt due to the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He regretted not being able to make this necessity clear.

While France is in crisis domestically, Macron is still seen externally as a reformer who strengthens the economy. To prove France’s willingness to reform, Macron accepts that the pension reform makes him unpopular: “I’m not trying to get re-elected“, he said in the interview. “Between the short-term popularity polls and the general interest of the country, I choose the interest of the country”. The French president may not be re-elected after two consecutive terms – that’s another reason he can be tough.

Protests continue

The anger of the French is normal, Macron said. This has been the case with every pension reform, he explained. He is convinced that he made the right decision. “If previous pension reforms had not gone through, the financial situation would be even more problematic”. He also confirmed Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in her post, while many critics are calling for her resignation. Borne had ensured that the President’s reform plans could be pushed through without a vote in parliament.

Macron is unwaveringly pursuing his course and stresses that the country has no right to stand still. The planned immigration law will be on the agenda in the coming weeks. Possibly as a lesson from the pension reform, he wants to proceed differently: Instead of presenting one big project, there will be several smaller texts that will be discussed individually. Macron apparently sees this as giving him a better chance of getting the legislation through. In France, it had been expected that the immigration package would be postponed because it was too sensitive.

Even before the interview, it was clear that Macron would remain firm. Addressing his ministers, he said there had been no choice but to see it through to the end. “One must not be intimidated”. He insists he has used the Constitution lawfully. Just because a text is narrowly approved, he says, does not make it illegitimate. Meanwhile, demonstrations continue in France against the pension reform. There will be another general strike on Thursday. tk/luk

Northern Ireland Protocol confirmed

The British Parliament has drawn a temporary line under the years-long dispute with the European Union over the Brexit treaty. On Wednesday, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favor of a reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with the EU. This will revamp controls on the movement of goods between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Republic of Ireland.

However, Sunak paid a high political price for the success. Twenty-two members of his conservative party voted against the plan, and 48 abstained. The new rules, on the other hand, were supported by Labor and other opposition parties.

Last month, a breakthrough was achieved after months of negotiations. The so-called Windsor Agreement mainly regulates the disputed points of tariffs and borders for the British province after leaving the EU. The actual customs border between the EU and the Kingdom remains the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland thus remains part of the EU Single Market and must comply with some EU rules. This avoids a hard border between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland. rtr

PFAS: consultation on ban launched

Six-month public consultations began Wednesday on the possible ban of “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in the EU. “The consultation is intended to give anyone with information on PFAS the opportunity to comment”, wrote the EU chemicals agency ECHA in Helsinki. After the Sept. 25 deadline, the agency plans to assess and form an opinion on a possible ban based on the available information, with the European Commission ultimately making the decision together with EU member states.

The substances in the chemical group, which is estimated to include more than 10,000 extremely persistent substances, are incorporated into everyday products such as jackets, pans and cosmetics. But they are also used in industrial processes.

Germany wants an end to perpetual chemicals

Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden proposed in January to ban the production, use and marketing of PFAS almost completely. The proposal provides for transition periods of up to thirteen and a half years, depending on the application. There would be unlimited exemptions for a few areas.

The industry is resisting a broad ban on the substances because only a few of them have been directly proven to be dangerous. However, only a few of the substances have been well-studied so far – and most of the well-studied substances are considered to be medium to highly toxic. dpa

Konrad Stockmeier – advocate of the free market

“When people go to the supermarket, it’s their free decision whether or not to put certain things in their shopping cart” – that’s how Konrad Stockmeier describes his view of the market economy. It has a lot to do with freedom, the FDP politician thinks. “That’s why the state shouldn’t constantly intervene in this process by subsidizing one product or another”. Stockmeier has been in the Bundestag since 2021, where he deals with European and energy policy. The 45-year-old would like the EU to think carefully in the future about what it invests in: “We can only spend each subsidy euro once“.

Stockmeier grew up in a parsonage in a suburb of Constance; his father later became president of the welfare organization Diakonie Deutschland. “That definitely sensitized me to sociopolitical issues”, he says in retrospect. But as a teenager, he was fascinated above all by the articles written by economics professors from the University of Constance in the local newspaper. Stockmeier studied economics and became a market researcher. The job gave him a “technical view” of the world, he says, because he was constantly able to keep up with new inventions.

Technology should develop freely

“It’s impressive how much brainpower goes into the new coating on the lid of a yogurt, for example“, Stockmeier says enthusiastically. Often, there is much more high-tech in small things than some people think. His understanding of politics also stems to some extent from this insight: “I’m very, very skeptical when government agencies think they know 15 years in advance which setscrews will bring us closer to climate neutrality“. The cogs of technical development must have free play so that they can mesh smoothly.

Stockmeier says he was a rather passive party member for a long time before a thought occurred to him in the winter of 2019: “I’d like to join a summer election campaign”. His Mannheim party friends elected him as a candidate, and he made it to No. 13 on the list. But Stockmeier didn’t expect to make it into the Bundestag for the time being because of the poll numbers. Still, it happened. “The Monday after the election, I suddenly found myself in the political arena”, he recalls. Despite the surprise, he was very pleased.

Better to promote photovoltaic research than production

Currently, he is particularly concerned with the question of how Europe will react to the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA. He takes a critical view of quotas for the domestic production of sustainable technologies: “That bears the spirit of a planned economy”. While a European response is needed, he says, it should not consist of promoting the production of standard solar modules in Europe. “We get them cheaper from other countries and they don’t give us a competitive advantage over third countries”. In his opinion, it makes much more sense to support research into the next generation of photovoltaics and the one after that. This would be something that could then also be exported. Paul Meerkamp