Trilogue negotiations on Battery Regulation continue

The negotiations between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the new Battery Regulation are taking longer than expected. According to negotiators, many differences on the details of the regulation still remain. A compromise may be reached only next year.

While the articles at the beginning of the regulation – for example, Article 2 on definitions – have already been largely finalised, other articles and even entire chapters are still completely open for discussion. This is true for Chapter VII on the end-of-life management of batteries, which includes the provisions on extended producer responsibility.

In particular, the views of Parliament and Council are still far apart on topics like the collection targets for waste portable batteries, the related timeline, the legal base and deposits. Recently, political discussions have focused on Article 11 of the regulation, which deals with possible provisions for the removability and replaceability of portable batteries.

The next trilogue is scheduled for 9 December. However, it is unlikely that all remaining differences will be resolved then. Instead, the negotiations are likely to be continued next year under the new Swedish Council Presidency.