EuroVAprint, the European OEM Association is disappointed at the European Commission’s decision not to endorse a revised Voluntary Agreement (VA) on Imaging Equipment.
Imaging equipment manufacturers are disappointed at EU’s decision not to endorse the revised Voluntary Agreement
Following the EU decision to reject the imaging Voluntary Agreement (VA) in favour of legislation on Wednesday, EuroVAprint, the association grouping major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of imaging equipment operating in Europe, expressed their disappointment at the European Commission’s decision not to endorse a revised Voluntary Agreement (VA) on Imaging Equipment.
The proposed VA was the result of more than 4 years of negotiations between OEMs, a small group of cartridge remanufacturers, European Member States, and some NGOs. EuroVAprint commented the commitments “would have significantly contributed to increasing collection and remanufacturing of cartridges, including setting re-use targets, thereby contributing to the EU’s sustainability agenda.”
While initially the VA was focused on energy-efficiency, over the years and through several revisions, it evolved to include material efficiency and information requirements for consumers. The latest draft submitted to the Commission was the most ambitious VA proposal, extending the commitments on energy efficiency, adding resource efficiency, commitments on spare parts and expanding design commitments to include consumables.
“EuroVAprint is disappointed at the Commission’s decision which represents a missed opportunity to secure progress in the coming years towards the EU’s sustainability aspirations for the circular economy. We remain committed to achieving ever-higher standards of environmental performance in Europe,” said EuroVAprint President Sara Rodriguez Martinez.
Last year two OEMs, Konica Minolta and OKI announced their withdrawal from the VA and in July last year European NGOs said they “firmly reject the proposed update to the voluntary agreement on imaging equipment and expect the Commission to propose a dedicated regulatory measure without delay in line with the commitments set out in the Circular Economy Action Plan.”
