{"id":8706,"date":"2025-04-21T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T06:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=8706"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:13:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:13:34","slug":"iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland Referred to the EFTA Court Over Waste Management"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eftasurv.int\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA)<\/a> has taken <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eftasurv.int\/newsroom\/updates\/esa-opens-infringement-proceedings-takes-iceland-court-failing-comply-eea-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">legal action<\/a> against Iceland by referring a long-standing case to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court. The issue at hand is Iceland&#8217;s continued failure to align with European Economic Area (EEA) regulations concerning the disposal of animal by-products not meant for human consumption.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management\/#Persistent_Non-Compliance_with_EEA_Rules\" >Persistent Non-Compliance with EEA Rules<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management\/#Limited_Progress_Despite_Repeated_Warnings\" >Limited Progress Despite Repeated Warnings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management\/#Failure_to_Commit_to_Reforms\" >Failure to Commit to Reforms<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/iceland-to-efta-court-over-waste-management\/#Legal_Resolution_Now_in_the_Courts_Hands\" >Legal Resolution Now in the Court\u2019s Hands<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Persistent_Non-Compliance_with_EEA_Rules\"><\/span><strong>Persistent Non-Compliance with EEA Rules<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under European Economic Area (EEA) law, all member states <strong>must handle animal by-products in a way that protects both public and animal health<\/strong>. This includes proper treatment and disposal of carcasses or animal remains not used for food. The regulations are also clear against unauthorized landfilling or on-site burial without appropriate safeguards.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">ESA began scrutinizing Iceland\u2019s practices over a decade ago. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eftasurv.int\/newsroom\/updates\/food-safety-unsatisfactory-controls-animal-products-iceland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">A mission in 2013<\/a> uncovered that certain by-products were being dumped in landfills <strong>not officially approved, or buried without meeting legal standards.<\/strong> This triggered ESA to open its own investigation in December 2015, aimed at determining whether Iceland was fulfilling its legal duties under the EEA Agreement.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limited_Progress_Despite_Repeated_Warnings\"><\/span><strong>Limited Progress Despite Repeated Warnings<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A follow-up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eftasurv.int\/newsroom\/updates\/food-safety-iceland-must-improve-controls-animal-products:is\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">audit<\/a> in 2018 showed that only <strong>minimal progress<\/strong> had been made since the initial review. Iceland had not significantly improved its system of official checks or implemented effective disposal practices in line with EEA requirements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">ESA formally began infringement proceedings by issuing a letter of formal notice in October 2018. This was followed by a reasoned opinion in April 2020, both documents outlining <strong>Iceland\u2019s failure to maintain a functioning control system<\/strong> <strong>or to ensure that its disposal methods met the necessary health and safety standards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-8701\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf.png\" alt=\"lanfill with waste - Iceland Referred to the EFTA Court Over Waste Management\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u0391\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf-\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf-1536x864.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Failure_to_Commit_to_Reforms\"><\/span><strong>Failure to Commit to Reforms<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even after acknowledging deficiencies in its current system and the absence of adequate official controls, Iceland <strong>has yet to confirm<\/strong> that it will carry out the required changes. There has been no firm commitment to enforce compliance or improve the infrastructure needed to meet EEA obligations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result, ESA has decided to refer the case to the EFTA Court, mainly competent to deal with infringement actions brought by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com\/w-016-6185?originationContext=document&amp;transitionType=DocumentItem&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)&amp;ppcid=1573d779f523466fb1831ec9c511afc4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>EFTA Surveillance Authority<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(ESA) against an EFTA state (namely, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) regarding the implementation, application or interpretation of EEA law rules.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The goal is to obtain a <strong>legal declaration<\/strong> confirming Iceland\u2019s failure to implement the measures necessary under the EEA Agreement. This referral marks the final stage of ESA&#8217;s formal infringement process.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legal_Resolution_Now_in_the_Courts_Hands\"><\/span><strong>Legal Resolution Now in the Court\u2019s Hands<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">ESA\u2019s referral to the EFTA Court represents the culmination of years of warnings, audits, and diplomatic pressure. With Iceland having shown little tangible progress, legal intervention is now the final route to address the country\u2019s non-compliance. The EFTA Court will determine whether Iceland has breached its obligations and what consequences may follow.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can find ESA\u2019s original publication <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eftasurv.int\/newsroom\/updates\/esa-refers-case-efta-court-concerning-icelands-failure-improve-disposal-animal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has taken legal action against Iceland by referring a long-standing case to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court. The issue at hand is Iceland&#8217;s continued failure to align with European Economic Area (EEA) regulations concerning the disposal of animal by-products not meant for human consumption. &nbsp; Persistent Non-Compliance with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,546,544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-corporate-updates-en","category-drs-waste-en","category-28","category-546","category-544","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8706"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9469,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8706\/revisions\/9469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}