Considerations on COM(2011)411 - EU position with regard to the interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP 10) on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

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dossier COM(2011)411 - EU position with regard to the interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention at the 10th Conference of ...
document COM(2011)411 EN
date July  7, 2011
 
1. The EU is a Party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (the 'Basel Convention') and to the amendment to the Convention prohibiting hazardous wastes exports for final disposal and recycling from a list of developed (mostly OECD) countries to developing countries (the 'Ban Amendment');

2. Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste[3] transposes the provisions of the Basel Convention and the Ban Amendment into EU law;

3. The Ban Amendment has not yet entered into force since Parties have so far been unable to reach consensus on an agreed interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention which governs the number of ratifications required for the entry into force of amendments to the Convention;

4. With a view to solving this issue, Indonesia and Switzerland have prepared recommendations for the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Basel convention (COP10); the recommendations propose to resolve, without prejudice to any other multilateral environmental agreement, that the meaning of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention be interpreted so as to mean that the acceptance of three-fourths of the Parties at the time of the adoption of the amendment is required for the coming into force of such amendment, noting that such an interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 does not compel any Party to ratify an amendment;

5. COP10 is called upon to adopt the decision addressing the entry into force of the Ban Amendment with regard to the interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention. Such a decision will have legal effects;

6. In this regard, it is proposed that the recommendations prepared by Indonesia and Switzerland with regard to the interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention should be supported.