Saturday

2nd Dec 2023

Plastic and carbon proposals to help plug Brexit budget gap

  • In 2017, a total of 14.5m tonnes of packaging waste was generated in the EU (Photo: mbeo)

National contributions from member states to the next long-term EU budget could soon partly depend on the amount of plastic put into circulation that is not recycled.

If the proposal is agreed by member states, the EU could kill two birds with one stone - increasing the EU budget, while contributing to the goals of the Green Deal.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The last "negotiating box" announced by Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, included a plastic tax as part of the so-called "own resources" - referring to sums that the EU could itself collect.

"As the budget is rather tight, all new own resources will help to mitigate the pressure [on member states] while contributing to the ecological and digital transition," the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Thursday (20 February), ahead of the extraordinary summit in Brussels on the seven-year, 2021-2027, EU budget.

"It is important to modernise the budget. I insist that if Europe wants to prosper in the future It will need to invest in it," she added.

The plastic-based contributions would be calculated by applying a levy of €0.8 per kg to the weight of plastic packaging waste that is not recycled.

However, according to the council's last proposal, an additional mechanism would also be introduced to avoid having an excessively regressive impact on national contributions.

Who will pay most?

In 2017, a total of 14.5m tonnes of packaging waste was generated in the EU - although the amount varied across member states: from 64kg per inhabitant in Bulgaria to 231kg per inhabitant in Luxembourg.

Likewise, the recycling rate of plastic packaging also varies widely among member states.

France, Finland and Estonia have the lowest recycling rate of plastic packaging waste (30 percent), which could make them the biggest plastic-based contributors.

According to initial estimates, this could mean an additional payment of €20m from Estonia.

However, according to the European Parliament, Ireland, Latvia, Denmark, Greece, Austria and Hungary also recycle plastic packaging at a low rate.

This new plastic tax for member states could generate on average €6.6bn per year.

Bloc imports carbon tax?

However, Brexit has left a €60-75bn hole in the forthcoming seven-year budget.

And to partly fill this gap, Michel's last "negotiating box" also proposes allocating a portion of revenues from carbon trading, known as the Emissions Trading System (ETS), to the EU budget.

In 2018, ETS revenues from selling EU carbon permits generated over €14bn.

Finally, there would be the possibility to introduce other initiatives that could expand the EU budget over the course of the 2021-2027 period - such as a digital tax, an aviation levy, a carbon border tax and a financial transaction tax.

Last December, the European Commission presented the Green Deal, which included the possibility of having a "carbon border adjustment mechanism" for selected sectors.

This would allow the EU to protect Europe's economy and industry against more carbon-emitting competitors from outside the bloc while contributing to the next budget.

The latest proposal for the EU budget states that at least 25 percent of expenditure should be spent on climate-related projects, while the European Parliament is calling for "at least" 30 percent.

However, critics warn that this might not be enough to meet the 2050 goal of climate-neutrality.

"The current EU budget does not fulfil the needs of the climate-neutral transition," according to the director of Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe), Wendel Trio, on Tuesday, who wants 40 percent of the budget to be for green projects.

Raphael Hanoteaux, EU policy officer for NGO CEE Bankwatch Network, had a slightly different perspective. "EU leaders must focus on the quality - not the quantity - of budget spending", he said.

"Debates over the size of the pot miss the mark, because effective spending means no money wasted on obsolete fossil fuels while giving priority to investments for action to curtail climate change," he added.

What will Brexit mean for climate action in EU and UK?

The UK is leaving the EU after playing a key role in climate action - just as COP26 comes to Glasgow. With so many policy negotiations ahead, a split between London and Brussels post-Brexit could undermine the 2050 emissions-neutrality goal.

Timmermans: EU climate law will 'discipline' rogue states

The first EU-wide climate law will be a "disciplining" exercise to implement the Green Deal - although the Polish climate minister Michal Kurtyka warned the EU Commission about the social cost of delivering the green transition.

Feature

Dutch case opens new era for climate-change litigation

Legal action related to climate change is set to grow considerably in the next few years - especially after a largely-overlooked ruling over Christmas by a Dutch court forced the government to reduce its emission by 25 percent by 2020.

MEPs agree carbon border tax - heavy industries protected

Green groups warned that if heavy industry continues to receive free allowances even after a carbon border levy is in place, this would essentially be a double subsidy for those sectors. "The European Commission must correct this," the WWF warned.

Opinion

Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground

Discussion of the biggest existential threat humanity has ever faced is barely mentioned on billboards or signage in Dubai — yet visitors are made aware quite quickly that t world rugby sevens tournament is imminent.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Latest News

  1. Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
  2. Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
  3. Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
  4. Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
  5. Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat
  6. Migrant return bill 'obstructed' as EU states mull new position
  7. Paris and Berlin key to including rape in gender-violence directive
  8. What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us