PPWR: EU Parliament votes for EPR relief

On 20 October 2026 the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on extended producer responsibility (EPR). Micro and small enterprises established in the EU would no longer have to appoint an authorised representative in every Member State they supply. The plenary thereby confirms what the Environment Committee prepared at the start of October. It is not yet law: the Council first has to adopt its position, and then both sides have to agree. This piece sets out what was adopted, who would benefit and what remains unchanged in the meantime.

Who

Plenary of the European Parliament

When

20 October 2026, Strasbourg session

Result

616 in favour, 9 against, 39 abstentions (batteries and packaging)

Beneficiaries

Micro and small enterprises established in the EU

Threshold

Fewer than 50 employees, turnover or balance sheet total of at most €10 million

Provision

Art. 45(3) PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40)

Time limit

Until 1 January 2035 at the latest

Legal position today

Duty has applied unchanged since 12 August 2026

What Parliament adopted

As in committee, MEPs voted on two texts. The first covers batteries and packaging, and therefore the PPWR; it received 616 votes in favour, 9 against and 39 abstentions. The second covers textiles, footwear, electrical equipment and single-use plastic products and was adopted with 612 votes in favour. Both texts go back to the Environment Committee, which will now negotiate with the Council on Parliament’s behalf.

The starting point remains Art. 45(3) PPWR: anyone who first supplies packaging or packaged products directly to end users in another Member State must appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility there. The duty has applied since August 2026 and is one of the most criticised parts of the regulation. The Commission had proposed suspending it for all producers established in the EU until 2035. Parliament goes considerably less far.

• Micro and small enterprises only: the SME Recommendation 2003/361/EC is decisive. Micro enterprises have fewer than 10 employees and at most €2 million in turnover or balance sheet total; small enterprises fewer than 50 employees and at most €10 million.
• Groups count: partner and linked enterprises are taken into account. The subsidiary of a large group does not qualify.
• Anti-avoidance: companies that split up or restructure deliberately to fall below the thresholds are to be excluded.
• EU establishment only: medium-sized and large companies as well as producers from third countries must still appoint an authorised representative.
• Time limit: the suspension ends on 1 January 2035 at the latest, and earlier once an EU-wide EPR framework with its own rules on authorised representatives applies. That framework is to come with the Circular Economy Act, which the Commission intends to present in 2026.

What has changed since the committee vote

Little in substance. The plenary confirmed the Environment Committee’s line of 5 October, with considerably more weight: around 93 per cent of the votes cast were in favour. What is new is the procedural stage. With this decision, Parliament’s negotiating position is fixed. How the committee vote came about and how the Member States have argued so far is covered in our October piece.

What stays the same

Only the appointment of the authorised representative would be suspended. Producer responsibility in the destination country remains. A company that no longer needs a representative has to meet the obligations in the destination country itself.

The patchwork therefore remains: registration, reporting formats and financing still differ from country to country. Parliament is calling for better information exchange between Member States, common reporting formats, interoperable digital systems and, in the long term, a central European contact point. None of this is binding yet. The DIHK made similar demands in its PPWR position paper in mid-October.

What happens next

The ball is now in the Council’s court. The Member States stopped their deliberations in June 2026 and resumed the topic in September. There is no negotiating mandate yet. In the Council, the discussion so far has leaned towards a volume threshold, with figures between 600 kilograms and ten tonnes of packaging per producer per year. Which criterion finally applies, company size, volume or a combination, will only be settled in the trilogue.

The relationship with national law also remains open. Since July 2026, France has required an authorised representative under its own law, and in more cases than the PPWR. Whether such rules would survive alongside a European suspension has not been clarified.

What companies should do now

• Do not cancel your authorised representatives. Until the amendment enters into force, Art. 45(3) PPWR applies in its current form. The exemption cannot be used yet.
• Classify your company size. Determine headcount, turnover and balance sheet total under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, including linked enterprises.
• Know your volumes per destination country. If a volume threshold prevails in the Council, that figure decides. You need it for volume reporting anyway.
• Keep up registration and reporting. These duties remain even with a suspension.
• Check contract terms. When signing new contracts with authorised representatives, look for short terms or a special termination right in case the law changes.