The European Commission has urged EU member states not to enforce key provisions of the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and to refrain from imposing penalties, days after the rules became applicable across the bloc.
The rollout has run into trouble since the enforcement date arrived on August 12, with the Commission facing backlash from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry groups over its legislation.
According to reporting in Die Welt, which described the flagship legislation as “a bureaucratic monster”, a senior EU official has stated: “No one needs to stop exporting products now. We encourage member states not to apply the new rules and not to impose penalties.”
He added that “when the rules were agreed about two years ago, the member states and Parliament have unfortunately actually agreed on something that fragments the single market”.
“Of course, let’s say, this is not particularly conducive to cross-border trade.”
He called the packaging legislation “clearly disproportionate”. The newspaper did not name him.
The regulation was negotiated under the 2019-2024 European Parliament, where a Green Deal-supporting majority held sway, and was adopted on December 19, 2024.
The remarks come as businesses across Europe halt cross-border sales because of the sudden administrative burden. The Händlerbund, a German online retail association, said on July 30 that small traders were switching off shipping to other EU countries.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on February 11, 2025 and applies in substance from August 12, 2026.
It replaces the previous Packaging Directive 94/62/EC and imposes direct, harmonised obligations on manufacturers, importers and distributors.
Among the most contentious requirements is the obligation for companies selling packaged goods into another member state to register under that country’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme and, in many cases, appoint a local authorised representative under Article 45(3).
This means small business owners can face up to 26 separate appointments, with different deadlines, forms and fees if they want to export across the EU.
Non-compliance can trigger sales bans and fines. The regulation sets no figures of its own: Article 68 obliges member states to lay down “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties and to notify them by February 12, 2027. In Germany, the new Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG) provides for fines of up to €200,000 per breach, though sanctions for PPWR breaches proper become applicable in February 2027.
Booksellers and small publishers, wine merchants, component suppliers and craft, art and design retailers are particularly under threat.
Retailers and online sellers report that the cost and complexity of registering in multiple national systems, plus the need for local representatives, make cross-border trade unviable for lower-volume operations. Trade lawyers put the cost of appointing a representative at €600 to €2,000 per country.
Trade associations have warned of fragmentation of the single market and lost sales. Händlerbund chief executive Tim Arlt said what was meant to strengthen the single market was in practice pushing small traders out of other EU countries, to the benefit of larger rivals able to afford representatives in several states.
Stefan Genth, managing director of the German Retail Federation (Handelsverband Deutschland, HDE), said on August 11 that “essential questions regarding responsibilities and obligations remain open for many companies”. He added that repeated attempts at clarification by the Commission had created fresh uncertainty and that companies should not be made to suffer for a regulation the EC had bungled.
Retailers, restaurant chains and packaging producers have warned that the European Union’s new packaging regulation would push up prices for consumers across the bloc. https://t.co/HAvgDQW2Wr
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 13, 2026
The Commission has acknowledged the practical difficulties. It has published guidance and FAQs stressing that enforcement in the initial period should not disrupt trade flows or supply chains, and that authorities should prioritise warnings and corrective action over sanctions.
In parallel, the Commission tabled a legislative proposal in December 2025 that would suspend the authorised representative requirement for EU-based producers until January 1, 2035, or until a Circular Economy Act takes effect.
Those changes still require approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and are not yet in force.
Member states have so far resisted key elements of the proposed relief. The Council dropped its deliberations on June 24, 2026 after a large majority of member states raised objections. In Parliament a narrower text is under negotiation, exempting companies with up to 49 staff and €10 million in annual turnover, with a first reading expected in October at the earliest.
The European Commission did not immediately reply to questions from Brussels Signal.
Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, whose portfolio covers water resilience and the circular economy, presented the regulation on August 11 as “an investment in Europe’s future”, saying it would replace fragmented national rules that economic operators found hard to navigate, and that the Commission had worked with market operators towards pragmatic implementation.
Critics describe the episode as a textbook illustration of Brussels legislation that is both overly bureaucratic and poorly prepared.
A regulation designed to reduce packaging waste and create a level playing field has instead produced legal uncertainty, forced small traders to withdraw from other markets, and left the Commission itself advising national authorities to suspend application of the rules it championed.
Industry voices argue that the sequence, adopt complex obligations, discover they are unworkable, then quietly urge non-enforcement, undermines confidence in the single market and the predictability of EU law.
Exporters now face a choice between absorbing uncertain compliance costs or stopping sales into other EU countries, precisely the outcome the regulation was meant to avoid.
The European Union has begun applying a single set of packaging rules across all 27 member states, replacing national laws built on a directive dating from 1994. https://t.co/TUxS9xw2cD
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 12, 2026
