The Council held a policy debate on the proposal for a Framework Directive setting eco-design requirements for Energy Using Products, providing guidelines for the continuation of work under the next Presidency.
From the debate, which was based on general questions relating to the structure and the scope of the Directive, and its interaction with national measures, the following main ideas emerged:
- all delegations welcomed this Commission proposal and considered its structure (Framework Directive defining the mandate for the Commission, assisted by a regulatory Committee, to adopt concrete measures) as appropriate;
- several delegations underlined the need to assess the environmental impact of the envisaged eco-requirement system in a balanced way, together with other impacts, such as the economic impact , in particular for small and medium-sized companies;
- while a large majority of delegations supported the integrated approach taken by this proposal which takes into account all significant aspects of a product throughout its entire life-cycle, other delegations would prefer thematic regulatory measures (e.g. on water, energy, emissions);
- many delegations considered that the Directive should lay down objective and transparent criteria, on the basis of which products would be selected for potential implementing measures, in accordance with the regulatory procedure, and following appropriate consultation of all stakeholders to guarantee the proper involvement of industry; on the other hand, some other delegations saw an added value in establishing an indicative list of product families beforehand;
- all delegations agreed that Article 95 of the EC Treaty constitutes the appropriate legal basis as this draft Directive intended mainly to ensure the free circulation of goods that comply with the requirements laid down in the implementing measures. Some delegations would like to retain the possibility of adopting further national measures in accordance with Article 95 (4 to 6) while others were more in favour of full harmonisation.�