BRUSSELS: The EU proposed Monday a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds while urging the collection of most plastic drinks bottles by 2025.
The set of proposals are part of a growing EU drive to rid the environment of plastic waste which has begun showing up in the food chain.
“Plastic waste is undeniably a big issue and Europeans need to act together to tackle this problem,” EU First Vice President Frans Timmermans said.
“Today’s proposals will reduce single-use plastics on our supermarket shelves through a range of measures,” Timmermans added.
The proposals call for banning plastic cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks, but it did not set a deadline.
These items must all be made from sustainable materials instead, according to the plan which must be approved by the 28 EU member countries and the European Parliament.
Member states must reduce the use of plastic food containers and drinks cups, by promoting alternatives for sale or ensuring they are not offered free.
Under the plan, producers must contribute to the costs of waste management and will be offered incentives to develop less polluting alternatives.
For example, it calls for producers of plastic fishing gear to cover the cost of waste collection from port reception facilities.
Under the plan, member countries must collect 90 percent of single-use plastic drinks bottles by 2025, through deposit refund schemes, for example.
The plan calls for producers to clearly label products and inform consumers how the waste should be disposed of.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said businesses will benefit from one set of rules for an EU market of around 500 million people.
It said it will encourage EU companies to develop economies of scale and become more competitive in the “booming” global market for sustainable products.
The proposals, plus one in January for all plastic packaging in Europe to be recyclable by 2030, follows China’s decision to ban imports of foreign waste products for recycling.
The EU currently exports half of its collected and sorted plastics, 85 percent of which goes to China.
EU proposes ban on straws, other single-use plastics
EU proposes ban on straws, other single-use plastics
Denmark to expel non-Danes if jailed for one year or more
- “We prefer to protect our countries rather than protect offenders,” Frederiksen said
- The government plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns
COPENHAGEN: Denmark will expel non-Danish citizens who have served prison terms of a year or more for serious crimes, part of new measures to tighten immigration policy, the government announced Friday.
“Foreign offenders sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes, such as aggravated assault and rape, should, in principle, be expelled,” the immigration ministry said in a statement.
Under current regulations, expulsions are not automatic, as Denmark complies with international conventions protecting the right to private and family life and forbidding inhumane treatment.
The Scandinavian country has, together with Britain, recently called on Europe to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which safeguards fundamental freedoms.
“It is right and necessary for European countries to sit around a table and say that we prefer to protect our countries rather than protect offenders,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told journalists.
“When international rules were drafted, I don’t think anyone imagined that someone would flee the Middle East to come to the best country in the world and start raping girls and women,” she said.
“At the time, it was absolutely not imagined that the victim would become the perpetrator. And I can assure you that, unfortunately, many of them have,” she said.
According to statistics from the immigration ministry, around 70 percent of foreign nationals sentenced to prison terms of one year or more for serious crimes have been expelled.
In addition, the government — which insisted that “refugees must be in Denmark on a temporary basis” — plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns and to tighten rules for foreigners in departure centers.
Denmark also said Friday it would reopen its embassy in Syria and establish cooperation with Afghanistan.
In the departure centers, some foreigners who fail to comply with their reporting requirements will be required to wear electronic ankle tags.
The reforms are expected to take effect on May 1.
