21.10.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 389/80

Rapporteur:

Cillian LOHAN

1.1.

The EESC welcomes the Commission proposal aiming to improve the functioning of the internal market in the sector of fertilisers in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan. The EESC believes that this approach, if widely extended to other sectors, can contribute to environmental sustainability at large, including economic development, and job creation and environmental protection.

1.2.

The Committee supports the proposal to extend the scope of the existing regulation, creating a harmonised level playing field for organic-origin and waste-based fertilisers and removing the limits to innovation. Nevertheless, the EESC recommends maintaining and applying all the key principles of environmental protection, including the precautionary principle.

1.3.

The EESC agrees with the creation of an efficient system of control, labelling and traceability to ensure the quality and safety of products that engages all the parties involved. The Committee suggests applying the labelling system already in use for plant protection products in order to provide clear information about fertiliser use and conservation. Moreover, the EESC recommends establishing an official analysis method to verify the credentials of any labelling system and to ensure that there is adequate robustness in the integrity of any labelling applied.

1.4.

The Committee observes that soil fertility and protection is a key aspect of the Commission proposal, but notes that this goal will be hard to achieve without a Soil Framework Directive. Moreover, it highlights the need to bear in mind the differences in soils among Member States, which should entail the adoption of targeted standards.

1.5.

The Committee endorses the proposal to set limits in order to reduce cadmium and other heavy metals in fertilisers. The EESC, conscious that this decision will increase production costs of fertilisers whose source of phosphate is mined bedrock, would emphasise that this is a major opportunity for organic biological based fertilisers to achieving a significant market share. This will in turn create further opportunities and help drive innovation, growth and job creation.

1.6.

The EESC recognises that producers can choose to comply with European or national laws in labelling but, due to the potential impact of diverging national rules and standards on market distortion and fragmentation, it would highlight the importance of an approach that avoids unfair competition and non-compliance with the highest traceability, quality and safety standards.

1.7.

The Committee observes that some definitions and standards concerning fertilisers originating from secondary raw materials are not clear. Specifically, a definition of ‘secondary raw materials’ will be essential as directives and regulations relating to the principles of a circular economy are proposed. In order to improve implementation of the new regulation, the EESC recommends more thorough integration and harmonisation with the existing Directive on Waste.

1.8.

The Committee considers the transition to a circular economy to be a crucial challenge for Europe and future generations. In order to follow this pathway, it recommends providing incentives to encourage enterprises that are interested in changing their production, and undertaking initiatives aiming to support the change in the field of information, raising awareness, education and vocational training.

1.9.

Member State strategies on wastewater treatment, infrastructure and management should recognise the value of waste water and sludge as sources of raw materials for the organic fertiliser industry.

1.10.

Regional scale collection and production supported by distribution networks across the Member States should form an integral part of the structure of an organic based fertiliser market.

2.1.

The Commission proposal has been developed in order to offer concrete solutions to the problems that emerged in the ex-post evaluation (1) of the existing Regulation on Fertilisers (2), in the wider framework of the Circular Economy Action Plan (3).

2.2.

In particular, the proposal aims to address two self-evident problems which affect the internal market in the fertiliser sector:

2.3.

The key points of the Commission proposal are:

2.4.

According to the Commission, the proposal would deliver a range of benefits, including:

3.1.

The EESC welcomes the Commission proposal, both for solving certain critical issues in the fertiliser market and for contributing to the transition to a circular economy.

3.2.

The Committee reiterates its support for any initiative that aims to close the loop in the context of the Circular Economy Action Plan (12). The EESC considers the creation of a harmonised level playing field for organic origin fertilisers to be an important environmental goal, and also an important driver for economic development and job creation.

3.3.

The EESC endorses the need to remove the barriers that limit the free movement of secondary raw materials (including organic secondary raw materials) and innovation, while maintaining and applying all the key principles of environmental protection, including the precautionary principle.

3.4.

The Committee supports the proposal to establish an effective system of controls, labelling and traceability to ensure the safety and quality of these products. In particular:

3.5.

The EESC recognises that producers can choose to comply with European or national laws in labelling, but would point out that diverging national rules and standards are one of the main causes of the current market distortion and fragmentation. For this reason it recommends a targeted approach in order to avoid new threats of unfair competition and non-compliance with the highest traceability, quality and safety standards.

3.6.

The Committee observes that soil fertility and protection is a key aspect in the Commission proposal, but notes that this goal will be hard to achieve without a Soil Framework Directive that can set and enforce common standards for the sustainable use and protection of soil (14). Moreover it highlights the need to bear in mind the existing differences in soils among Member States, which should entail the adoption of targeted standards.

3.7.

The Committee agrees with the setting of limits in order to progressively reduce cadmium and other heavy metals in fertilisers. In the meanwhile, it is conscious that an immediate and radical reduction of cadmium levels in fertilisers will increase production costs and therefore the costs for farmers and consumers. In line with the disruptive processes that form part of a transition to a circular economic model, this cost shift, and consequent price shift, could form an economic tool to drive change at consumer or farmer level. Farmers must be protected from drastic price increases and therefore benefit from accessibility to fertilisers to meet their needs.

3.8.

The EESC underlines that SMEs’ competitiveness could be affected by the additional compliance costs (15). Because of the strategic value of this Regulation, the Committee recommends providing incentives to encourage SMEs’ transition to more sustainable production (16). The EU DGs responsible for both research and agriculture will have key roles in this process.

3.9.

The EESC considers that the transition to more sustainable fertilisers as well as to a circular economy requires a deep commitment from all parties involved (manufacturers, farmers, workers and consumers). Technical advice and best practices continue to evolve but are not always well communicated. As in other areas, information, awareness-raising campaigns, vocational training and life-long learning are essential (17). The proposed Circular Economy Forum to be hosted at EESC as proposed in the NAT/676 opinion on the Circular Economy Package can help play a role in delivering on this.

4.1.

The EESC agrees that plant bio-stimulants should be included in the framework of CE marked fertilising products instead of plant protection products, amending Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Nevertheless, the Committee invites the Commission to monitor the process carefully in order to ensure that this is not used to circumvent the law on plant protection products, posing potential health and environmental threats.

4.2.

The Committee believes that fertilisers originating from secondary raw materials may in the future constitute an important part of an integrated circular economy (18). In order to improve harmonisation with the existing Waste Framework Directive (19), the EESC suggests:

4.3.

End-of-waste status (20), as defined in the Commission proposal, applies to fertilisers and not to their components. The EESC suggests that this concept should apply to the components, because any recovery operations must be undertaken on the starting components and not on the fertilisers as final products.

4.4.

The Committee is convinced that ‘nudge thinking’ could be a useful tool in achieving the general goal of a more efficient internal market in the context of the transition towards a circular economy, involving and addressing manufacturers, farmers and consumers and encouraging more sustainable choices and behaviours.

4.5.

Municipal waste water has a potential as a secondary raw material for this emerging industry. Analysis of waste water infrastructure at Member State level should be encouraged in order to determine accurate cost-benefit analysis in investment in infrastructure development that prioritises the supply of high quality, well separated, nutrient rich waste water. Urine can provide a reliable source of phosphorus and nitrogen without the associated heavy metal concentrations found in bedrock deposits containing phosphates in particular.

4.6.

Regional scale collection and production supported by distribution networks across the Member States should form an integral part of the structure of an organic based fertiliser market. This model can be complemented by a multitude of community-scale collection and, where feasible, production units.

4.7.

The Committee notes that ambitious reductions in cadmium can more easily be achieved with a heavy focus on fertilisers with phosphate from sources other than cadmium contaminated mined rock.

4.8.

Exemptions from the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) legal framework need to extend beyond composts to encourage new market opportunities and innovation in areas such as struvite and related products.

4.9.

The EESC encourages the Commission to include additional component material categories in the Annexes, to keep up with technological progress allowing the production of safe and effective fertilisers from recovered, secondary raw materials, such as biochar and ashes.

4.10.

The EESC encourages the Commission to create incentives to support the recycling of livestock manure under the principles of the circular economy. At the same time, it is important that we do not create systems that support the excessive production of manure. Other opinions on CAP reform (21) and the need to reform our agricultural systems highlight the need for a reduction in the concentrated manure producing regions as part of a total reform of our agri-food systems to a sustainable model.