Policy recommendations

  • The European Union should allow ACP countries to maintain their sovereignty and policy space in relation to the appropriate use of their own natural resources. They should be able to use investment regulations, tariff barriers and export restrictions to promote equitable, local and sustainable economic development.
  • The European Commission through its development policy should stimulate resource-rich developing countries to implement their own industrial policies, to protect their infant industries by using legitimate barriers to trade, and by introducing environmental measures. This should allow resource-rich developing countries to move up the value chain, so that the added value to (semi) processed products will remain in the country of origin and would thus stimulate economic development.
  • Within its development budget the EU should allocate sufficient resources to the building of energy and environmental infrastructure to enable developing countries to stimulate economic development.
  • The EU should use its political and economic power to set clear rules in relation to the extraction of raw materials. Like suggested in the February 2011 RMI update an EU code of conduct for EU companies operating in third countries should be developed and measures should be taken to enforce such a code of conduct.
  • In order to provide for more transparency in the supply chain and to minimize the role of European companies in fuelling conflicts over resources, the EU should implement Country by Country reporting, following the US example of the Dodd Frank Act.
  • Within the EPA negotiations the EU should be more flexible as suggested in the RMI update and make sure developing countries can demonstrate the use of export taxes as a policy tool and therefore keep using them.
  • In all policy initiatives and actions elaborated on the basis of the strategy laid down in the Raw Materials Initiative that affect developing countries, DG Development should be closely involved, and ACP partner countries and civil society organisations should be consulted.

 

 

Case: Raw Materials Initiative

10-10-2011 MEP Koppa questions the Commission on illegally dumping of hazardous electronic waste in West Africa

Referring to information from the NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency, MEP Maria Eleni Koppa (S&D) posed questions about illegally exporting and dumping of hazardous electronic waste (e-waste) in third-world countries by British companies.

In 2009 the Commission published the WEEE (waste electric and electronic equipment) Directive, which requires member states to collect waste from electronic devices separately. The directive is supposed to improve recycling of used electronic devices and to decrease illegal export of electronic waste from the EU. However, still there are thousands of tonnes of hazardous economic waste, containing toxic metals, illegally dumped in West Africa. The lives of children processing the waste, trying to earn a little money, are endangered by this situation. Clearly this is incoherent with the development goals the EU has committed itself to, with the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty. Not only on paper, but also in practice, the EU policies and the policies of her Member States should be more coherent with the Development Policy.

Apart from this, increasing the recycling of the electronic waste would contribute to the coherence with the Raw Materials Initiative. A recently adopted report on an effective raw materials strategy for Europe from the European Parliament, suggests an promotion of domestic mining, which is simply put: recycle more and consume less raw materials. This will make Europe less dependent from resource-rich countries, which are not seldom third-world countries. With being less dependent comes less necessity for Europe to make aggressive trade agreements that might undermine development policies.

Fair Politics welcomes the question posed by MEP Koppa, reminding the Commission of this state of affairs. Since this situation is nothing new and the Commission is aware of it, she wants to know if the Commission will tighten the rules to repress illegal export of hazardous waste. Koppa will be rewarded one point in our monitor system for Fair Politician of the Year.

(See also our news articles about this topic from april and november 2010)

Monitor fair: S&D

Parliamentary questions
16 June 2011
E-005897/2011

Question for written answer
to the Commission

Maria Eleni Koppa (S&D)

Subject: Illegal exporting of hazardous waste

According to information from the independent NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency, British companies are illegally dumping thousands of tonnes of hazardous electronic waste in West Africa (Ghana and Nigeria in particular).
This waste contains toxic metals (lead, mercury, etc.).
This situation endangers the life of children processing this waste in the hope of earning a little money.
This is not a new state of affairs and the Commission is aware of it.
Does the Commission intend to introduce more stringent rules to crack down on the illegal exporting of hazardous waste to poor third-world countries?