Subject: How many fines has Croatia paid each year for waste disposal and non-functioning waste management centres?
According to the Commission’s report of 8 June 2023, Croatia risks missing its targets of recycling 55% of municipal and packaging waste by 2025 and 60% by 2035.
In Croatia, only four cities currently meet the EU’s 50% municipal waste separation target, and there are no signs that the 60% target is likely to be met. The situation on the ground is worrying. The Commission is financing the uncontrolled construction of overpriced waste management centres whose maintenance costs cannot be scrutinised by the users of the services, while at the same time in Croatian towns and cities trucks from municipal companies are collecting all the already sorted waste together with mixed municipal waste1, because sorting and composting systems do not exist or do not work.
1. How is it possible for the Commission not to be monitoring the implementation of waste collection and imposing fines?
2. Who is responsible for this situation?
3. How many fines has Croatia paid each year for waste disposal and non-functioning waste management centres?
Submitted: 19.9.2023
1 https://vijesti.hrt.hr/hrvatska/smece-u-istom-kosu-10540906
Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission (10 November 2023)
As guardian of the Treaties, the Commission monitors the implementation of the EU waste legislation in the Member States. In that context, in June 2023, the Commission published the Early Warning Report (2).
The report concluded that Croatia is at risk of not reaching the targets for recycling and preparation for reuse which are included in the Waste Framework Directive (3) and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (4).
In line with the possibility afforded to the Member States to postpone the deadline for reaching those target s (5), Croatia has submitted an implementation plan related to the postponement of the targets on recycling and preparing for reuse of municipal waste and of packaging waste made of plastic and of glass.
The Commission has asked Croatia to revise its implementation plan, which is currently under assessment by the Commission services.
Based on Article 260(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, a Member State can be condemned by the Court of Justice of the European Union to pay fines only after the Court has found that a Member State has not complied with a previous judgment by that Court.
So far, the Court has not imposed the obligation to pay fines to Croatia. In a case concerning the illegal landfill Biljane Donje, the Commission referred Croatia back to the Court and requested imposition of fine s (6) for failing to fully comply with the Court judgment of 2 May 2019 (7). The case is pending before the Court (Case C-315/23).
1 ∙ ⸱ https://vijesti.hrt.hr/hrvatska/smece-u-istom-kosu-10540906
2 ∙ ⸱ Commission Staff Working Document: The early warning report for Croatia and Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions identifying Member States at risk of not meeting the 2025 preparing for re-use and recycling target for municipal waste, the 2025 recycling target for packaging waste and the 2035 municipal waste landfilling reduction target. 3 ∙ ⸱ Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3-30, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109-140. 4 ∙ ⸱ Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste, OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10-23, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/852 of 30 May 2018, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 141-154. 5 ∙ ⸱
Article 11(3) of Directive 2008/98/EC and Article 6(1a) of Directive 94/62/EC. 6 ∙ ⸱ https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?nat=or&mat=or&pcs=Oor&jur=C%2CT%2CF&num=C- 315%252F23&for=&jge=&dates=&language=en&pro=&cit=none%252CC%252CCJ%252CR%252C2008E%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C%252C %252C%252C%252C%252Ctrue%252Cfalse%252Cfalse&oqp=&td=%3BALL&avg=&lg=&page=1&cid=4624148 7 ∙ ⸱ https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/EN/IP_23_502