The European Council has adopted legislation resulting in an EU battery regulation delay. It postpones the implementation of due diligence obligations until August 2027. The delay gives battery manufacturers and exporters more time to prepare.
Battery manufacturers and companies exporting batteries to the EU are not required to submit due diligence reports under the Battery Regulation for the time being. This follows a decision by the European Council. The core of the decision was to improve competitiveness.
In October, the Council urged all EU institutions, Member States, and stakeholders to take priority action. The call followed the reports Much more than a market by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, and The Future of European Competitiveness by Mario Draghi, also a former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Central Bank.
As part of efforts to boost industrial competitiveness and reduce regulatory complexity, the EU adopted the Omnibus IV legislative package.
One example of such complexity is Regulation 2023/1542 on batteries (Battery Regulation). It requires battery manufacturers to meet due diligence obligations. They must also have their batteries checked and regularly audited by third parties.
The regulation requires battery manufacturers to report on their due diligence measures. These include actions related to waste disposal and recycling. Manufacturers must also document and, where possible, reduce environmental impacts. In addition, they face further obligations concerning the supply, processing, and trade of cobalt, graphite, lithium, and nickel used in batteries.
The Battery Regulation was originally set to take effect next month. However, on July 18, the European Council adopted a law from the “Omnibus IV legislative package” to simplify the rules in favor of competitiveness. This EU battery regulation delay postpones the battery due diligence obligations by two years, pushing the new implementation date to August 18, 2027.
Lawmakers hope the amendment will help battery manufacturers prepare for the regulation. It should also give enough time to establish independent due diligence review bodies, as authorities have identified several problems in their approval processes.
Under the latest regulation, the European Commission will publish due diligence guidelines one year before the requirements take effect. This aims to help companies prepare for the new regime.
The German Bundestag will return to the EU Battery Regulation on September 11, following its summer recess. Lawmakers plan to supplement the so-called Battery Law Implementation Act, which transposes European law into German law, with a collective collection system and higher collection targets.
