Opening statement of the EU and its Member States for the fourteenth meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG14) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

Geneva, 25-28 June 2024

Distinguished Co-chairs, Executive Secretary, Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues,

The European Union and its Member States would like to thank the Bureau and the Secretariat for all their work in organising this 14^th meeting of the OEWG of the Basel Convention. We are pleased to meet here in Geneva, and we thank Switzerland for hosting us.

We would like to thank the Secretariat, the lead countries and intersessional working groups who have been working intensively in the run up to this meeting. 

Last year, we met in Geneva, and saw a successful outcome of COP16 with the adoption of many important deliverables, in particular the technical guidelines on plastic waste, as well as the start of important work on the improvement of the functioning of the PIC procedure. We look forward to the discussion over the next few days and hope that this week’s meeting will help us make substantial progress on many important issues that are on the agenda of COP17 in May next year.

We would like to briefly address a few key issues in that regard.

We believe there is momentum to advance the work considerably on the various technical guidelines, and in particular those on batteries.

We also think the work to improve the functioning of the PIC procedure is key to contributing to increase the effectiveness of the Basel Convention for protecting human health and the environment and to the transition towards a circular economy. We stand ready to intensively engage in this matter.

We would also like to make progress on revising Annex IV. We think that progress can be made, but this will require thorough discussion in a spirit of compromise. We hope to have good discussions this week to see where progress can be made in order to be well prepared for COP17.

Finally, we would like to kindly draw your attention to two side events that will take place this week. On Wednesday evening, we would like to provide an explanation of the EU’s new rules on waste shipments. Today after this plenary session, we would like to discuss the impacts of trade in used textiles and textile waste and possible actions that could be taken under the Basel Convention in the coming years to improve transparency and sustainability of textile waste trade.

Madam co-chair,

The EU and its Member States remain fully engaged in the Basel Convention. We believe that we must continue to build on the Basel Convention’s important work so far to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects from hazardous wastes and other wastes and thus contribute to the implementation of several Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you!