Industry groups continue to fight Wastewater Treatment Directive despite court setback
EFPIA has lost their legal battle, but hope that national cases will address their concerns
Europe’s pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries have pledged to continue challenging the EU’s revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) after the General Court dismissed separate legal actions brought by their trade associations on procedural grounds.
The rulings, which rejected cases from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and Cosmetics Europe for lack of legal standing, mean the court did not examine the legality of the directive’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme.
Catherine Feore
Legal questions remain open
In its response, EFPIA stressed that the “important legal questions regarding the validity of the Directive [remain] unresolved”.
The pharmaceutical industry group acknowledges that the polluter pays principle is a cornerstone of EU environmental policy, but says that it isn’t being applied in a fair, evidence-based and legally sound manner”.
Under the revised directive, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies are expected to shoulder a large share of the costs to upgrade wastewater treatment plants to remove micropollutants, such as residues from medicines and personal care products, a requirement that industry groups argue unfairly targets only two sectors. EFPIA says the current burden is not based on an accurate or proportionate assessment of responsibility for this type of waste.
Catherine Feore
What happens next
With trade associations blocked from direct challenges, attention now shifts to national courts and member-state litigation. EFPIA and Cosmetics Europe pointed to ongoing litigation at the national level as the next pathway to judicial review.
EFPIA is hoping that a case brought by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, currently before Ireland’s High Court, will be sent to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling on the directive’s validity.
Cosmetics Europe expressed optimism about a parallel legal action brought by Poland: “These questions have also been raised in a separate case brought by the Polish government. The Polish case is not affected by this ruling.”
With divisions among Commissioners, growing pressure from industry and a Commission eager to show its pro-business credentials, the European People’s Party (EPP) proposal for a one-year “stop-the-clock” might gain greater currency.
Catherine Feore