Commissioner Roswall, in a written answer on 3 July 2026, defended Denmark's right to ban exports of end-of-life automotive glass under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR), while signalling that the Commission is exploring ways to facilitate cross-border recycling of such materials. The answer, responding to a question from Renew MEP Asger Christensen, clarifies that automotive glass containing laminated plastic and rubber moulding may be considered a mixture of waste rather than green-listed waste, and thus subject to stricter notification procedures. This upholds the Danish Environmental Protection Agency's decision, which Christensen argued contradicts the WSR's circular economy goals by forcing recyclable glass toward incineration or landfill.
The Commission acknowledged the tension between national interpretations and the single market for waste. Roswall noted that the new WSR, adopted in April 2024, aims to strengthen the circular economy by facilitating shipments of waste for recycling between member states. To that end, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to green-list certain non-hazardous waste mixtures for intra-EU shipments or establish contamination thresholds. A public consultation on potential green-listing has already been conducted, and the Commission is now analysing input and gathering further evidence before any delegated act is adopted.
The answer contains no concrete proposals or timelines, only a commitment to further analysis. The policy orientation is cautiously supportive of harmonisation but defers to member state competence in the interim. Institutional follow-up is expected in the form of a delegated act, though no date is given. Stakeholders impacted include Danish recyclers facing export restrictions, EU glass recyclers in other member states who could receive the waste, and national authorities interpreting waste classification rules. The Commission's balancing act seeks to reconcile environmental protection with circular economy ambitions, but the lack of immediate action leaves the current Danish ban in place, potentially limiting cross-border recycling of automotive glass in the short term.