Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-02-Speech-4-011-000"
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"en.20120202.5.4-011-000"2
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"Mr President, on behalf of the Commission, I would like to thank Mr Iturgaiz for a very good report on the application of the Waste Framework Directive adopted in 2008. I also wish to thank the members of the committee for their views and contributions to this important debate.
The Commission very much welcomes the report, which presents important facts linked to the state of implementation of waste legislation in Member States. As we have already stressed on many occasions, full implementation of waste legislation is crucial for securing a safe and healthy environment, as well as a resource base for European industry. However, we face a persistent implementation gap in waste legislation and the resulting wide disparity between Member States in terms of performance in waste management not only puts our environment and health at risk, but also prevents the EU economy as a whole, and its recycling and waste management industry in particular, from reaping the benefits of proper implementation.
Let me quote some facts. First, we have missed opportunities due to poor implementation. Those missed opportunities are estimated to amount to a loss of EUR 72 billion per year. Secondly, if the material going for disposal today was treated in accordance with the existing legislation, we could have avoided between 146 and 244 million tonnes of CO
emissions. That is the equivalent of taking 47 million cars off the road each year and corresponds to somewhere between 19 and 31 percent of the EU climate reduction targets. Last, but not least, full implementation of waste legislation could create over 400 000 jobs – jobs which we need very badly in the current economic environment.
These are important figures, and for this reason the Commission fully concurs with the conclusion of the report that effort needs to be stepped up to fully implement existing waste legislation. We also subscribe to Parliament’s call on Member States to transpose the Waste Framework Directive without further delay and to ensure full compliance with all its requirements, and, in particular, to establish and implement comprehensive waste management plans so that the goal of European waste laws is put into practice quickly.
The Commission will continue to monitor compliance with European waste legislation. We will continue to provide guidance to Member States on practical aspects of implementation, and we intend to streamline resources by identifying and focusing on the most problematic Member States and to address existing deficiencies together with those Member States. We are also looking into the possibility of strengthening cooperation with the European Environment Agency in this respect.
Let me conclude by saying that we have efforts under way to address Parliament’s concerns raised in the report and, at the same time, we are grateful that Parliament is bringing much-needed added energy to those efforts."@en1
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"2"1
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