I(Acts whose publication is obligatory)DIRECTIVE 2006/66/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILof 6 September 2006on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators and repealing Directive91/157/EEC(Text with EEA relevance)THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-PEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-munity,andinparticularArticle175(1)thereofandArticle 95(1) thereof in relation to Articles 4, 6 and 21 of thisDirective,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic andSocial Committee (2),Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of Regions (3),Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down inArticle 251 of the Treaty (4), in the light of the joint textapproved by the Conciliation Committee on 22 June 2006,Whereas:(1)Itisdesirabletoharmonisenationalmeasuresconcerningbatteriesandaccumulatorsandwastebatteries and accumulators. The primary objective of thisDirective is to minimise the negative impact of batteriesand accumulators and waste batteries and accumulatorson the environment, thus contributing to the protection,preservation and improvement of the quality of theenvironment. The legal base is therefore Article 175(1)of the Treaty. However, it is also appropriate to takemeasuresatCommunitylevelonthebasisofArticle 95(1) of the Treaty to harmonise requirementsconcerning the heavy metal content and labelling ofbatteries and accumulators and so to ensure the smoothfunctioning of the internal market and avoid distortionof competition within the Community.(2)The Commission Communication of 30 July 1996 onthe Review of the Community Strategy for WasteManagement established guidelines for future Com-munity waste policy....
