“The race is not to the swift … but time and chance happen to them all” Ecclesiastes 9:11
As you set off on your legislative journey, things may come out of no-where and delay you. The adoption of Directive (EU) 2018/851 on waste was not swift or certain. Unexpected political disruptions sidelined the proposal, to see it’s resuscitation back to life several months later.
Lobbying is not for the faint-hearted. You need patience and resources.
A lot of key decisions are made early on from the idea development to the adoption of the proposal.
This update to existing waste legislation was 6 years in the making.
An interesting case study as we move from Commission to the next. The waste proposal was one of the first victims of ‘political discontinuity’. It will be interesting to see if the new Commission feels the same zeal not to be bound by the political legacy of the current Commission.
I’ve added as much of the sequencing of meetings and decisions as I could glean from official sources and my notebooks. I’ve done so because it gives a good idea of the toing and froing between the EP, Council, and Commission. It also shows that the political masters oversight and final sign off on any decision (from Ambassadors at COREPER to Environment Ministers).
Some of the key events I can’t add. I don’t know when the file received political validation in 2012, nor when the real decision to drop it (although I do know who removed it). I don’t know when the informal trilogues between the Rapporteur, Council Presidency and Commission occurred. These off the books meetings, vital to securing a political agreement, are known only to a few.
You’ll see from this, there are many steps in the long journey. If you stumble early on, it’s going to be hard to get back on track. You’ll need to be well prepared before the journey has even started.
The Revision of the Waste Framework Directive – Directive (EU) 2018/851 – A long Journey
- 16 April 2012: Impact Assessment Steering Group established (DG ENV, SG, ECFIN, ENTR, CLIMA, JRC, and ESTAT) – Preparatory Work
- 23 October 2012: European Commission 2013 Work Programme (item 40) (link)
- February 2013: First interviews with key stakeholders
- 4 June 2013: Public Consultation opens (links)
- 10 September 2013: Public Consultation closes (15 weeks)
- 23 January 2014: First Impact Assessment sent to Impact Assessment Board (link)
- 21February 2014: Impact Assessment Board issue first Opinion
- 3 March 2014: Impact Assessment Board 2nd Impact Assessment submitted (link)
- 8 April 2014: Impact Assessment Board (former RSB) final opinion (link)
- April 2014: Proposal drafted
- May 2014 Interservice Consultation
- 27 June: Jean-Claude Juncker has been nominated by the European Council as President-designate of the European Commission.
- 2 July 2014: Original Proposal adopted
- 2 July 2014: Proposal submitted to European Parliament and Council
- 16 July 2014: EP confirm Jean-Claude Juncker
- 14 November 2014: Environment Council debate (link)
- 10 December 2014: European Economic and Social Committee adopt Opinion (link)
- 12 December 2014: Committee of Regions adopt Opinion (link)
- 16 December 2014: New Work Programme withdraw indicated
- 22 January 2015: Commission inform Environment Committee proposal to be withdrawn
- 7 March 2015: Proposal Withdrawn by new Commission (link)
- 28 May 2015: Public Consultation on the Circular Economy opens (link)
- 4 June 2015: Targeted public consultation with the Member States opens
- 11 June 2015: List of planned Initiatives
- 20 August 2015: Public Consultation on the Circular Economy closes
- 29 August 2015: Member State expert discuss expected proposal
- 3 September 2015: Targeted public consultation with the Member States closes
- 2 December 2015: College of Commissioner adopt new Legislative proposal published (link)
- 7 December 2015: Council Working Party on the Environment experts discuss the proposal
- 14 December 2015: Committee referral announced in Parliament
- 21 December 2015: Environment Committee discuss the new proposal
- 22 December 2015: Simona Bonafè (S&D, Italy) confirmed as Rapporteur
- 15 January 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 27 January 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 23 February 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 4 March 2016: Exchange in Environment Council (link)
- 9 March 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 12 April 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 4 May 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 23 May 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 9 June 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 15 June 2016: Environment Committee discuss the draft report by Rapporteur
- 1 July 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 19 July 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 10 August 2016: 1169 Amendments to the draft report tabled
- 15 September 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 27 September 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 29 September 2016: Environment Committee discuss amendments to draft report
- 14 November 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 1 December 2016: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 19 December 2016: Environment Council discuss the proposal
- 12 January 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 24 January 2017: Vote in Environment committee (link)
- 31 January 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 7 February 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 9 February 2017: Committee report tabled for plenary (link)
- 13 February 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 20 February 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 7 March 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 14 March 2017: Debate in Parliament (link) adopt negotiating a position for trilogues
- 24 March 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss proposal
- 3 April 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 4 May 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 19 May 2017: COREPER back negotiating a position
- 30 May 2017: First trilogue
- 31 May 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 8 June 2017: Environment Committee updated on trilogue
- 19 June 2017: Environment Council discuss proposal and trilogue (link)
- 21 June 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 26 June 2017: Second trilogue
- 11 July 2017: Environment Committee updated on trilogue
- 17 July 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the proposal
- 4 September 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogues
- 12 September 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogues
- 26 September 2017: Third trilogue
- 27 September 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 28 September 2017: Environment Committee updated on the trilogue
- 5 October 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogue
- 18 October 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 25 October 2017: Fourth trilogue
- 27 October 2017: COREPER debriefed on Fourth trilogue
- 6 November 2017: Environment Committee debriefed on Fourth trilogue
- 10 November 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogue
- 16 November 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogues
- 22 November 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 27 November 2017: Fifth trilogue
- 29 November 2017: COREPER debriefed on triologue
- 30 November: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogue
- 8 December 2017: Council Working Party on Environment discuss the trilogue
- 13 December 2017: COREPER discuss the proposal
- 17 December 2017: Sixth trilogue
- 18 December 2017: European Parliament and Council reach Provisional Agreement reached
- 11 January 2018: Environment Committee debriefed on the trilogues
- 23 February 2018: COREPER letter confirming interinstitutional agreement
- 27 February 2018: Approval in Environment committee of the text agreed at 1st reading interinstitutional negotiations (link)
- February-May: Text revision by legal linguist
- 16 April 2018: European Parliament plenary debate on Agreement
- 18 April 2018: European Parliament plenary back Agreement
- 16 May 2018: COREPER back Agreement
- 22 May 2018: Act adopted by Council (Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council _after Parliament’s 1st reading (A point) (link)
- 30 May 2018: Final act signed
- 14 June 2018: Final act published in the Official Journal
- 4 July 2018: Enters into force