The German Federal Ministry for the Environment has developed an amendment proposal to relieve the burden on small retailers shipping goods to EU countries under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Under the new regulation, companies must appoint an authorized representative in every EU country to which they send packages. Each registration could cost between €200 and €800 per country, which is expected to put a disproportionate burden on small and independent businesses selling goods in EU Member States.
At a preparatory meeting for the Environmental Omnibus, the German Federal Government presented an amendment proposal to exempt traders that put less than ten tons of packaging into circulation per year from the requirement to appoint a representative.
The proposal would also suspend registration in the new system until a central European system for manufacturer registration is operational in mid-2028.
The German Federal Government argues that a national regulation would fall short, and that these changes must be implemented directly into the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
It adds that the Regulation “must not create new bureaucratic obstacles” and states its intent to secure a majority among Member States to support the proposal – a move set to support small businesses that only make a few shipments to other EU countries each year.
In a similar move, MEP Regina Doherty has written to EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall requesting ‘urgent action, simpler rules and proper protections’ for European SMEs selling online. She critiques the current rules for enforcing a €3 charge on ‘low-value’ goods from outside the EU, and argues that “parts of the system simply do not work.”
In a poll conducted among 500+ Etsy sellers, just over 4% planned to comply with the new regulation, while approximately 48% said they would no longer sell their products in the EU.
Die Welt also cites a confidential conversation with a ‘high ranking EU official’ who encouraged Member States to scrap the need for an authorized representative and only require traders to register once.
Reportedly, the European Commission has requested Member States and the European Parliament to abolish the obligation in a draft bill that currently awaits approval by EU legislators; yet German retail organization Händlerbund says the proposals were suspended after a majority of Member States spoke out against it.
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