Commissioner Roswall, in a written answer on 3 July 2026, defended the Italian framework for classifying clippings and prunings from public green spaces as by-products rather than waste, but stressed that compliance with EU waste law depends on case-by-case verification by national authorities. The answer, responding to a question from MEPs Dario Tamburrano and Carolina Morace (The Left), reaffirms the Commission's earlier position that Italy's Decree of 19 June 2024 does not appear to contradict EU legislation, provided the four cumulative criteria of Article 5 of the Waste Framework Directive are met: certain further use, direct usability without abnormal processing, integral part of a production process, and lawful use without adverse impacts. The Commission declined to assess whether Italy is correctly implementing the directive in practice, stating that it is for competent national authorities to verify compliance in each case. It pledged to continue monitoring and to take enforcement action if evidence of non-compliance emerges, in line with its enforcement priorities.
The answer contains no concrete proposals, deadlines, or numerical targets, and leaves the substantive assessment to Italian authorities, signalling a deferential approach to national implementation. Institutional follow-up is limited to potential future infringement proceedings if the Commission receives evidence of systematic non-compliance.