This article demonstrates the need for and the limits of the so‐called comitology procedure in the area of European waste legislation, using the example of Directive 2002/95/ EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (the RoHS Directive). The RoHS Directive prohibits the use of six hazardous substances in certain electrical and electronic equipment. The Annex to the RoHS Directive, which contains the exemptions from this prohibition, can be amended through the comitology procedure. This procedure is a widely used method in European Community law for the delegation of legislative power from the Council and the European Parliament to the executive branch, i.e. the European Commission. The authors conclude that the use of comitology is indispensable for highly technical issues for which the co‐legislators are lacking the time, as well as the resources, to carry out the adaptation of the legislative acts. However, the Commission needs to handle comitology with care; otherwise it runs the risk that its decisions lack legitimacy.

The article analyses whether electricity production from renewable energy sources can be the object of a public service obligation. This question is of particular importance for the State aid assessment of payments to producers of electricity from renewable energy sources. Such payments typically occur under so-called feed-in tariffs, which are a regulatory mechanism used in most Member States to promote the production of electricity from renewable energy sources. The author argues that there are compelling reasons for considering that Member States can introduce public service obligations with respect to the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, and that compensation payments granted are exempted from the notification obligation under Article 88(3) EC treaty, if the beneficiary undertaking receives not more then 30 million EUR per year as compensation, and if its turnover does not exceed 100 million EUR. Should these thresholds be exceeded, the compensation payments need to be notified to the Commission. The Commission will then assess them under the Community framework for public service compensations, which has been adopted in November 2005.

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The Union’s action on the international scene, pursuant to this Part, shall be guided by the principles, pursue the objectives and be conducted in accordance with the general provisions laid down in Chapter 1 of Title V of the Treaty on European Union.