News
19 Dec 2023

PPWR unwrapped

Les jeux sont faits. Well... Almost. If you have been following the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, now set to become a Regulation, you might have found yourself answering the question: will the file make it before the end of this legislative mandate? All the bets are done now that the European Council has officially agreed its negotiating position on the file, the so-called General Approach.

The approval of the General Approach on 18 December, preceded by the adoption of the Parliament position in November, wraps up months of intense discussions on the file and will allow the start of interinstitutional negotiations between Council, Parliament and the Commission (trilogues in Brussels’ jargon). Taking over from Spain, the Belgian Presidency of the Council will see the start of negotiations in early January and should bring them to conclusion at the latest by early March to ensure the adoption of the Regulation before the last European Parliament plenary session in April 2024.

What’s on the table?

On 22 November, the Europen Parliament plenary agreed significant changes to the text, eventually striking a better balance between the reports that had been voted by the ENVI and ITRE Committees, including the following proposals:

  • The deletion of some arbitrary measures, such as the maximum 40% threshold for packaging empty space, several of the packaging bans set out in Annex V, and some of the reuse and refill targets proposed for 2040.
  • The introduction of clearer dates of entry into force for the requirements related to packaging minimization and recyclability, as well as welcomed provisions aimed at supporting the recyclability of packaging at large scale (e.g. earmarking of EPR fees and a 90% separate collection target for EU Member States)
  • Although the adopted text puts forward new bans (in Annex V and targeting food packaging containing intentionally-added PFASs and BPA) and material-specific waste prevention targets without proper impact assessment, it also foresees different mechanisms to derogate economic operators from the reuse and refill targets and from the packaging restrictions initially foreseen in the Commission’s text.

While the Parliament and Council positions remain broadly aligned on the scope of the recycled content targets, Member States included last minute changes in the text to:

  • Take on board targeted derogations from the reuse and refill targets (e.g. for cardboard, wine and perishable beverages, and for packaging used to transport dangerous goods), also allowing companies in the beverage sector to form ‘pools’ and reach the targets on a collective basis.
  • Build a review mechanism in Articles 7 and 26 to assess the feasibility of the 2040 reuse and recycled content targets.
  • Although still in the process of transposing the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), Member States have also foreseen an amendment of the SUPD to ban single-use food containers, beverage containers, and beverage cups made of extruded polystyrene (XPS), without prior impact assessment.

Despite the call of over 100 EU and national associations from the packaging value chain to deliver a workable packaging legislation, the Parliament and Council texts worryingly converge on one issue: they both undermine the Internal Market principles, failing to recognise that harmonised packaging rules are an essential condition to deliver packaging circularity.

If the Parliament text failed to include adequate harmonisation of sustainability and waste management requirements, the European Council has decided to leave carte blanche to the Member States when it comes to achieving packaging waste prevention. From the possibility to exceed the packaging waste prevention targets set out in Article 38, to the potential introduction of more ambitious or additional reuse targets and labelling requirements, passing through a narrower interpretation of the concept of “placing on the market” (alias placing on the market of a Member State and not the EU market (!)), Member States have clearly reflected in the text their resistance to the Commission’s attempt to turn the PPWD into a PPWR.

As we move into the trilogue negotiations, EUROPEN will continue to call for the adoption of a balanced and workable legislative framework, which is anchored in scientific evidence and able to harness the benefits of the EU market.

What did you miss?

  • 24 October 2023: European Parliament’s ENVI Committee voted on its PPWR report
  • 22 November 2023: the European Parliament adopted it negotiating position on PPWR
  • 14 December 2023: over 100 EU and national associations from the packaging value chain issued a joint industry statement on PPWR and Single Market
  • 18 December 2023: the European Council adopted its General Approach on PPWR

What’s next?

  • 01 January – 30 June 2024: Belgian Presidency of the Council
  • January 2024 – March 2024 (tbc): Interinstitutional negotiations on PPWR