Ecology, Estonia, EU – Baltic States
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Thursday, 28.03.2024, 11:25
Estonia may be fined EUR 100 mln for non-compliance with waste target
Kalle Palling,
deputy chair of the parliamentary environment committee, said that in the event
of failure to meet the waste management target, Estonia will be
threatened with an European Union fine, which is promising to be bigger by
a half than the sugar tax, up to 100 mln euros.
The Estonian parliament has been handling the Waste Act for
16 months. According to Palling, there has been no real progress in the matter
for approximately a year. By 2020, Estonia must have admitted 50% of
municipal waste into circulation, while the percentage currently stands at 32%.
Due to a slow procedural process and the inability to
reconcile the parties, a fairly weak bill can be expected, which likely
will not help Estonia to the circulation goal set. The handling of the Waste
Act received a new boost right before Christmas. At present, the parties to the
proceedings say that they expect to adopt the law in a more lenient form still
before the elections. But it is namely the elections that also reduce the
ambition of the bill.
Chairman of the parliamentary environment committee Rainer
Vakra said that the handling of the bill has dragged on because when drawing up
the bill, the ministry did not include interest groups in it enough.
"We have received over 200 amendment proposals, so, we
are essentially sewing a suit to a button at present. This is definitely not
everyday legal practice and the ministry has definitely not drawn up a bill
worthy of an A+ grade. In the committee, we have discussed the proposals of all
interest groups three times already -- these decisions cannot be made
rashly," Vakra said.
In order for the bill to be adopted in any form, the
decision was made to divide the amendment proposals into two --
those regarding which agreements have been reached by now and those
that still need to be discussed.
The environment committee on Monday will once again discuss
conflicting issues and the ministry is hoping to find a solution to some of
them. It is likely that some 130 softer amendment proposals will be sent to the
parliament's great hall, while more innovative ideas will initially not be
included in the bill.
"There are many good proposals in the bill. For
example, a very important point for waste handlers is making waste
permits and licenses simpler, that is reducing red tape," Margit
Ruutelmann, managing director of Estonian Waste Management Association,
said. "However, waste handlers do not believe that the entire bill should
now be flushed down and be solved again with the next government. We will
continue with at least some of the proposals," she added.