Mission

Our main mission is practical harmonisation

The WEEE-Directive has been transposed in all of the 27 Member States of the European Union. However, in doing this some local variations have been introduced and producers placing electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the market in more than one Member State may have to fulfil different legal requirements for the same obligation, e.g. reporting.

EWRN's main mission is therefore to harmonise as many procedures as possible and so make it easier for producers to comply.

For example: EWRN has developed a methodology for deciding whether products are within the scope of the Directive. The National Registers within EWRN also exchange detailed information about specific products on a regular basis to determine whether those products fall within scope or not. This procedure ensures that scope decisions are made in a consistent way across the Member States. Without this, it would be possible for EEE to be considered within scope in some Member States but not in others with obvious consequences for producers.

Another objective is the prosecution of free-riders

Free-riders are a common problem in all Member States. Free-riders are producers who do not fulfil their national legal obligations, e.g. registration, reporting, provision of a guarantee or participation in a collective scheme. Free-riders undermine fair competition and therefore need to be identified and held responsible with respect to their legal obligations.

EWRN exchanges information about free-riders in order to identify their activities across the EU. With the support of public authorities in charge these non compliant producers can be held responsible.