The European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Climate and Food Safety has approved a proposal to ease some of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements applicable to micro and small enterprises based in the European Union.

The change concerns the requirements for appointing an authorized representative and covers areas such as packaging, batteries, textiles, footwear, electronic equipment, and single-use plastics.

EuroCommerce, the association representing the retail and wholesale sectors in Europe, welcomed the initiative, but believes this should only be the beginning of a broader review of the requirements set out in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

Complexity can create new barriers in the single market.

According to EuroCommerce, the implementation of authorized representative requirements has exposed significant differences between national EPR schemes and the waste legislation of the various Member States.

For retailers, this fragmentation increases administrative complexity and can create new barriers to cross-border trade, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The proposal was approved on October 5th by the relevant parliamentary committee. The next step will be a plenary vote before negotiations begin with the European Council.

EuroCommerce calls for greater harmonization.

The association argues that the future Circular Economy Act should be used to reduce regulatory fragmentation and bring EPR and waste rules closer together across Member States.

EuroCommerce also calls for secondary PPWR legislation to be proportionate and avoid adding new reporting, calculation and documentation obligations without sufficient clarity on their practical application.

According to the organization, companies still have doubts about the interpretation of several provisions of the regulation and need greater predictability to prepare for implementation.

Among the measures advocated is also a 12-month grace period to allow companies to resolve any outstanding issues in the application of the PPWR.