12 Colum. J. Eur. L. 639 (2006)
Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou, J.S.D. Candidate, Columbia University School of Law.
On December 12 2005 the Commission of the European Communities (European Commission) presented the final draft of its proposal for a new legislative framework for wastes. The legal basis for the legislation is Article 175 EC Treaty mandating the co-decision procedure for the adoption of legislation regarding environmental issues. Accordingly, the Commission submitted the proposal to the Council and the European Parliament on December 23, 2005. The deliberations have taken place and the new directive is expected to come into force after the debates and examinations before the Council in the first half of 2006. The new directive has four main objectives: (a) a refocus on the reduction of environmental impacts from waste generation and management, taking into account the whole life-cycle, (b) simplification of the existing legal framework, (c) emergence of a European recycling society, and (d) a standard based approach.
