The Directive requires the Member States to set up systems to make car manufacturers responsible for collecting and recycling end of life vehicles (ELVs).
Austria's implementation of the Directive makes producers responsible only for vehicles of their own brand that are registered in Austria. The Commission said this was not sufficient for the Directive's requirements. Austria maintained its position following an earlier written warning from the Commission.
In-depth analysis of Germany's End-of-Life Vehicle Act 2002 by the Commission suggests it “does not transpose the Directive correctly”. The law narrows the scope of producer responsibility and leaves exemptions to free take-back rules, the Commission said.
Hazards
EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “By failing to comply fully with these laws, Austria and Germany are not delivering the level of protection against pollution and other environmental hazards that they have signed up to at a European level.”
In the UK, the government is only halfway through its own implementation of the European ELV Directive. While standards on the environmental impact of vehicle treatment and recycling have been introduced, a system for the financing of producer responsibility is not yet in place. New regulations are expected to be revealed in the next few weeks.
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