The European Parliament,

-  having regard to Council Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)(1) ,

-  having regard to Council Directive 76/403/EEC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls(2) , which was the first approximation of laws and regulations of the Member States,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Directive on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls(3) , which was presented to take into account technical progress and to replace the first Directive approved in 1976,

-  having regard to the amended proposal for a Council Directive on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)(4) , which modified the legal basis,

-  having regard to Rule 47(2) and to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (A5-0379/2000 ),

A.  whereas there are still quantities of PCBs in store, but the size of these stocks is not exactly known; whereas the Member States should notify the Commission of the size of the stocks,

1.  Recommends that the immediate priority should be to implement the existing legislation rather than to redraft and reform the Directive;

2.  Considers that Member States have largely failed to achieve the aim agreed in Directive 96/59/EC of reducing PCB pollution and preventing danger to public health and the environment;

3.  Considers that, with the notable exception of Finland and Netherlands, the implementation of the Directive has been extremely unsatisfactory;

4.  Notes that recent events such as the dioxin in chickens crisis in Belgium have demonstrated the devastating effects, both on health and on economic sectors, of contamination by a relatively small quantity of PCB;

5.  Notes that reports have shown that the amount of PCB in equipment excluded from the scope of the inventory required by Article 4 of Directive 96/59/EC, particularly quantities under 5 dm3, contribute significantly to PCB pollution;

6.  Deplores the fact that many Member States have not yet completed the inventories of equipment containing PCB required by Article 4 of Directive 96/59/EC; considers that the accuracy and completeness of these inventories are essential to monitor and control the adequate disposal of PCB-containing equipment, and thus to meet the aims of the Directive;

7.  Deplores the fact that the poor implementation of Directive 96/59/EC is mainly due to the failure to draw up an inventory of existing PCBs particularly as such an inventory is an essential prerequisite of their disposal; criticises the fact that no analysis foresaw these difficulties; notes that, for the purposes of implementing this Directive, some Member States have resorted to financial incentives to encourage the declaration of PCBs by economic operators and hence the drawing up of inventories; accordingly asks the Commission to carry out an urgent revision of Directive 96/59/EC and in so doing to make provision for the use of such incentives, particularly for SMEs;

8.  Calls on the Member States to notify the Commission of the size of the stocks of PCBs, and to make this information public;

9.  Calls on the Member States to carry out proper inspections in order to complement and improve the existing notification systems;

10.  Calls on the Member States to develop collection systems and disposal outlines, if necessary with appropriate incentives, for equipment containing PCBs but not subject to the inventories referred to in Article 4 of Directive 96/59/EC; considers that for electrical equipment, this question could be addressed within the framework of the electronic waste directive;

11.  Considers that the Commission has been slow to censure Member States for non-compliance and that it should put in place better monitoring procedures and ensure that Member States promptly provide all information required by the Directive in a format that allows direct comparisons and quantitative judgements to be made;

12.  Considers that the Commission should set a clear deadline for the full implementation of the Directive and also for a review with the aim of developing existing measures;

13.  Considers that the Commission should consider imposing financial penalties on Member States for non-compliance;

14.  Calls on the Commission to develop and promote exchanges of information between Member States so as to facilitate the compilation of the inventories referred to in Article 4 of Directive 96/59/EC and the development of solutions for the collection and disposal of PCB-containing equipment falling outside the scope of the inventory required by Article 11 of Directive 96/59/EC;

15.  Considers that the Commission should submit without any further delay a proposal to amend Directive 75/439/EEC on the disposal of waste oils;

16.  Considers that the Commission should invite Member States to introduce financial incentives in particular for individuals and SMEs to dispose of stocks of PCBs or equipment containing PCBs;

17.  Considers that the implementation of the PCB directive and the elimination of PCBs should be a test case for how the Union can develop efficient policies to tackle other highly toxic substances more effectively;

18.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 243, 24.9.1996, p. 31. (2) OJ L 108, 26.4.1976, p. 41 (3) OJ C 319, 12.12.1988, p. 57. (4) OJ C 299, 20.11.1991, p. 9.