As reported by the European Council, the Council and the Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on 5 December 2023 on the proposed Regulation establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. Here are the key points in brief:
- The Ecodesign Regulation would apply to almost all product categories such as dishwashers, televisions, windows, car charging stations, etc.
- Creation of a harmonised framework for the definition of requirements for certain product groups
- Objective: Not only to design product groups in an energy and resource-efficient manner, but also to improve their durability, reliability, reusability, retrofittability and reparability
- Recycling and maintenance of the affected products should become easier
- The movement of such products within the internal market should be facilitated
- A new "digital product passport" will contain information on the environmental sustainability of products and help consumers and companies to make informed decisions when purchasing products and make it easier for authorities to carry out tests and inspections
- Provisions on transparency and avoiding the destruction of unsold consumer products
- Binding minimum requirements for public contracts to incentivise the supply of and demand for environmentally sustainable products
- Direct ban on the destruction of textiles and shoes; small and micro-enterprises are exempt from this ban. For medium-sized companies, this exemption only applies for a period of six years. This ban will apply after a period of two years from the entry into force of the Regulation. The Commission is authorised to introduce new bans on the destruction of other unsold products
- The obligations of online marketplaces with regard to cooperation with the market surveillance authorities of the Member States will be harmonised with the Digital Services Act. This is to ensure that European legislation is complied with for products sold online
- Motor vehicles are excluded if regulated by other legislation; products with defence or national security implications are not covered
Summary: The Ecodesign Framework Regulation reorganises the requirements for sustainable products With the agreement between the EU Council and Parliament on 5 December 2023, a major step has been taken towards the publication of the new Ecodesign Framework Regulation. Both chambers must now formally agree. The likelihood that this new regulation will be published in the spring has therefore increased.
The Ecodesign Framework Regulation is of great importance to you? trade-e-bility keeps you up to date with the Legal Monitoring Service. This means you only receive the information that is relevant to you and your product. And we help you with implementation. If you have any questions, please contact the trade-e-bility consulting team at beratung@trade-e-bility.de or +49/40/750687-300.
