Packaging Industry Calls for Ambitious 28th Legal Regime to Advance EU Competitiveness

A coalition of 22 organisations representing the European packaging value chain has issued a joint statement to propose concrete recommendations for the European Commission’s proposal on a 28th legal regime.

While the initiative is widely recognised for its potential to support innovative enterprises, including start-ups and SMEs, industry groups stress that its benefit should extend well beyond this, contributing directly to Europe’s broader competitiveness and circular economy goals.

EUROPEN’s Secretary General, Francesca Stevens, said:

“The 28th legal regime offers a real opportunity to remove barriers that still fragment the Single Market. With a harmonised framework, Europe can strengthen its competitiveness while accelerating the transition to a circular economy.”

To ensure the framework brings meaningful simplification and supports Europe’s circular economy goals, the packaging value chain recommends that the regime:

• Is made available to all companies operating on the Union market, regardless of their size.
• Harmonise procedures and requirements across Union acts, particularly registration, authorisation, and reporting obligations in environmental legislations.
• Fully operationalise mutual recognition, accelerating cross-border administrative procedures—including for waste shipments and circular processes.
• Embrace a digital-by-default approach, using interoperable systems, reducing paper-based processes, and enabling a digital one-stop-shop for EPR compliance.
• Uphold the once-only principle, ensuring businesses submit data only once, with authorities sharing it securely across Member States.

By promoting genuine simplification and regulatory coherence, the 28th legal regime could become a pivotal instrument for strengthening the Union’s industrial competitiveness and supporting Europe’s transition to a circular economy.

Please read the full statement here.