Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002906/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Ana Vasconcelos (Renew), João Cotrim De Figueiredo (Renew)
The Portuguese Government has decided to almost double the fees that companies must pay to municipalities – from EUR 125 million in 2024 to EUR 235 million in 2025 – without proper consultation, clear performance goals or the infrastructure needed to improve recycling outcomes. This comes at a time when Portugal is already off track to meet its 2025 EU recycling targets.
This decision risks undermining the principles of Article 8a of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD)[1], which require extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to ensure fair cost allocation, efficient use of funds and clearly defined roles for public and private actors. Instead of reforming a dysfunctional system, the government has simply increased the financial burden on companies.
The Commission flagged Portugal’s underperformance in its 2023 early warning report and has now opened an infringement procedure (INFR(2024)2145).
- 1.What steps will it take to ensure Portugal complies with Article 8a of the WFD?
- 2.Does the Commission consider Portugal’s brutal fee increases to be compatible with EU law and can Portugal collect a waste management fee without clearly linking it to actions supporting EU recycling targets?
- 3.What action will it take if Portugal continues to miss its recycling targets and fails to address structural shortcomings?
Submitted: 16.7.2025
- [1] Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/98/2024-02-18.