The distant spectre of a costly eco-tax is looming on the horizon for European industry as the Brussels prepares to unveil its integrated products policy (IPP) on Wednesday.
Industry leaders are on tenter hooks that the IPP proposal could lead to market distortions and discrimination against products that do not show an eco-label.
The business community has strongly criticised a possible EU move to link VAT reductions to products carrying such a label.
This would not be set at an EU level and would lead to a distortion of the internal market, bosses argue.
IPP aims to minimize the impact that everyday consumer goods, such as washing machines, have on the environment throughout their life cycle.
The European Commission has already dismissed business fears, claiming that it will merely be publishing a draft policy paper and not a binding EU law.
But industry sources told EUpolitix that Wednesday’s paper concentrates purely on environmental aspects to the detriment of other economic and consumer concerns.
At the heart of industry’s fears is the EU’s “discriminatory” treatment of products with ecolabels over those that do not, said one spokesman.
“We do not think that such discrimination would lead to global improvement of products,” she said, adding that safety and economic assessments should also be taken into account.
“We do not think it [the proposal] is reflecting the reality of the market,” she continued.
Industry argues that distortions in the definition of eco-labels across the EU mean they cannot be used to determine the quality of a product.
Business leaders have criticised the commission’s intention to give preference to eco-label products in public procurement rules.
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