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The European Commission is revising environmental regulations to improve the tracking, treatment and recycling of hazardous materials. car. Claims online that the changes would give the government the power to “seize” and “destroy” old cars are false. The proposal focuses primarily on manufacturers and the recycling industry, and only requires car owners to use licensed facilities when their cars reach the end of their lifespan.
“The EU wants to seize your old car to meet climate targets,” argues Swedish commentator Peter Immanuelsen. Also known as Peter Sweden, Posted by Substack on November 27, 2023.
He made similar claims in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, which received tens of thousands of interactions.
of The US conservative website Gateway Pundit, which AFP has repeatedly fact-checked regarding the spread of misinformation, republished the Substack article, drawing even more attention on Facebook. Silvano Trotta, an influencer whose statements were previously debunked by AFP, also amplified the same claim in French on X and Telegram.
These posts follow the European Commission’s July 2023 proposal to improve sustainability in the automotive industry (archived here).
This regulation will replace the existing directive on “reusability, recyclability and recoverability of end-of-life vehicles, vehicles and vehicle parts” (archived here and here). The European Commission said it wanted to update these rules, which have been in force since 2000 and 2005 respectively, to ensure proper disposal of Europe’s approximately 6 million decommissioned vehicles. Year.
The proposed changes would not give the European Union the power to take away vehicles from citizens.
“Each owner remains the decision maker as to what to do with his car,” European Commission spokesman Adalbert Janz told AFP on November 29.
circular economy
Potential regulatory changes are pushing for a more circular economy plan for the automotive industry, including recovering more raw materials from cars.
The aim is to “better regulate how unusable vehicles are disposed of to improve vehicle collection, processing and recycling,” Yarns said.
French environment and energy lawyer Emma Babin said the regulation was not primarily aimed at car owners. Rather, the regulation will “impose obligations on manufacturers, processing centers for these vehicles, and EU member states.”
Among other things, the proposal (archived here) requires:
- Vehicles must be manufactured in such a way that they are “reusable or recyclable to at least 85 percent of their mass” (Article 4).
- Processing facilities are permitted to “document the decontamination of end-of-life vehicles”, including the removal of fluids, fluids, batteries and other materials (Article 29).
- Member States are required to “adopt incentives to promote the reuse, remanufacturing and remanufacturing of parts and components” (Article 33).
The only obligations imposed on the vehicle owner are set out in Article 26.
Drivers will be required to “take the vehicle to an approved treatment facility at the end of its useful life and present a certificate of subsequent destruction for the vehicle’s deregistration.”
EU will not force cars to be scrapped
Immanuelsen argues that: “If your car is late, it’s (as per original) After two years of regular EU inspections, it will be considered “waste” and thrown away. ”
But the European Commission’s Janz said: “These statements are completely false and are not based on any element of the proposed regulation.”
This Directive defines the criteria for declaring a vehicle at the end of its useful life. This includes if the car was “completely burnt out” or “submerged in water to a level above the dashboard.”
Car passport?
Mr Immanuelsen also claims the EU is considering introducing ‘your passport’. car. “
This is misleading because the regulation does not create a document restricting where cars can drive.
“The aim is to ensure that raw materials for vehicles are circular and can be better reused or recycled,” Yarns said.
As detailed in Article 13 of the EU proposal, the passport would be a “digital tool used to improve the provision of information on the safe removal and replacement of motor vehicle parts”.
The regulations also aim to ensure that vehicles deemed unfit for public road use are no longer allowed to travel. Illegally exported as used cars, circumventing waste permit requirements.
In 2017, there were 3.8 million end-of-life vehicles. ”disappeared from the legal market,” According to a European Commission report (archived here).
Determining what happens to missing cars is not easy, but a gray market of illegal scrappers operates in Europe. This can lead to environmental damage, including the release of hazardous fluids.
Still under consideration
As of December 7, the new end-of-life vehicle regulations were only a proposal. The Parliament and the Council will each discuss changes and possible amendments before adopting the document.
A majority of voters would need to adopt the article in Congress, but a qualified majority vote would be required in the Board of Governors.
Under this system, 55% of member states (equivalent to 15 out of 27 countries) must vote in favor. According to the website Toute l’Europe (archived here), member states supporting this proposal must represent at least 65% of her EU population.
The negotiation process can take months or even years before regulations are adopted.
AFP here debunks other misleading claims about the European Union.