(fra kommisjonsforslaget)

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

Article 44(2)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 on shipments of waste (‘Waste Shipment Regulation’) provides that, from 21 May 2026, the export of mixed municipal waste for recovery from the EU to third countries (including Switzerland) is no longer permitted. This provision was adopted as part of the overall EU environmental policy to reduce the generation of mixed municipal waste (i.e. waste generated by households which is not separately collected). Its objective was to promote the treatment of mixed municipal waste in facilities operating according to EU standards and located near the place where it is generated, in line with the proximity principle, as well as material efficiency and the need to reduce the environmental footprint of waste.

Every year, around 200 000 tonnes of mixed municipal waste are shipped from different EU Member States to Switzerland. A large share of this waste originates from localities situated in close proximity to Switzerland. The entry into application of Article 44(2)(f) of the Waste Shipment Regulation would put a halt to a long-established practice. This ban will shift the transport of such waste to other facilities which are in the EU, but are located further away than the Swiss installations currently used by EU Member States authorities and waste management operators.

Data provided by these authorities and stakeholders show that a ban on the export of municipal waste to Switzerland would substantially increase the costs for the management of this waste and generate a surplus of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the additional road transport (and the replacement of rail transport currently used for transfer of waste from Austria to Switzerland). In addition, the benefits associated with this measure (increased economic activity linked to the treatment of waste in EU facilities; reduced dependence on export of waste for the management of waste generated in the EU) appear to be limited. In view of this, the measure does not seem proportionate compared to the objectives that it seeks to achieve. In line with its simplification agenda, the Commission therefore proposes a very targeted and limited amendment to the Waste Shipment Regulation to amend Article 44(f), to allow the export of mixed municipal waste for recovery to Switzerland to continue. The export of such waste for disposal (landfilling or incineration without energy recovery) will be banned.

In the Communication COM(2025)980 'Simplifying for sustainable competitiveness’ accompanying the Environmental Omnibus package adopted in December 2025 (Simplification of administrative burdens in environmental legislation), the Commission acknowledged the concerns raised on these issues by stakeholders and authorities in the Member States concerned (Austria, France, Germany and Italy), where the geographical situation in certain regions warrants the export of such waste through more sustainable means of transportation to nearby waste management facilities in neighbouring countries. The Commission indicated it would explore with the co-legislators how to address the matter in a timely manner in the Circular Economy Act or through other legislative tools, in line with the objectives of the Waste Shipment Regulation and of the EU decarbonisation agenda. The most effective and swiftest way to address this problem is to table a self-standing proposal to amend Article 44(2)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1157.

This proposal includes targeted provisions concerning only a clarification that the prohibition to ship mixed municipal waste for recovery does not apply when such waste is exported to Switzerland. It is important that this proposal is adopted by the Commission as soon as possible, so that it can be agreed by the co-legislators rapidly, which would avoid disrupting shipments of mixed municipal waste to Switzerland. Article 44 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 will enter into application on 21 May 2026; consents for shipments of mixed municipal waste are valid for up to one year, which means in practice that shipments for which consents were given before 21 May 2026 will be authorised after that date, until, as a maximum, 20 May 2027. This is in line with Article 85(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1157. It is therefore essential that the amendment to Article 44(2) is adopted and enter into application before that final date. 

Possible further modifications or derogations from the Waste Shipment Regulation fall outside the scope and aims of the present proposal. The Commission will engage constructively with the co-legislators to ensure that the legislative process fully preserves the essential objective of this proposal and does not alter its intent.