On 21 October 2026, the Council of the EU adopted a negotiating position on a proposal to suspend part of the packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) authorised-representative requirement. That is not the enactment of a final law. Parliament has also developed a position, and negotiations over the final text remain. The issue concerns the EPR representative obligation when an EU-established producer first supplies packaging or packaged goods directly to end users in another member state. It is not a general waiver of packaging design or recycling rules.

The current legal starting point is the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, especially Article 45. Article 45(3) addresses representatives for EU-established producers supplying end users directly in another member state; the article separately allows member states to require one from third-country producers. The role concerns local fulfillment of EPR duties. It should not be confused with a manufacturer’s authorised representative for product conformity tasks elsewhere in the regulation.

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What the Council position actually covers

The underlying obligation to appoint an EPR authorised representative concerns a producer established in the EU first making packaging or packaged products available directly to end users in another member state. The Council’s negotiating position proposes suspending that obligation when the producer first makes less than one tonne of packaging available in that member state in a calendar year. The volume test includes packaging of packaged products; it is not limited to direct end-user sales. This is not a worldwide company total or an EU-wide aggregate. The quantity is tied to the market of the particular member state. The Council text also includes a safeguard for breaches of EPR obligations and a Commission review of the suspension by the end of 2030. The scheduled expiry in that position is 2032.

Parliament’s approach would narrow relief to EU-based micro and small enterprises. Its press release specifies fewer than 50 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total below €10 million, with a suspension until 2035 or the adoption of a broader circular economy act. The Council’s per-state one-tonne condition and Parliament’s enterprise-size condition should not be combined into a single settled eligibility rule. The final legislative text remains to be negotiated.

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Does a Korean exporter automatically qualify?

There is no basis for that conclusion. The Council explicitly limits the proposed relief to producers established in the EU. The PPWR separately addresses the option for member states to require a representative from third-country producers. A small Korean business supplying directly into the EU does not gain this proposed exemption merely because its volume is low. The first practical question is which legal entity is the producer in each member state under the actual sales structure and who first makes the packaging available there.

The proposed relief also concerns appointment of a representative. It does not erase registration, reporting, financing and other EPR duties or the packaging’s own conformity requirements. Businesses should retain records of country-specific volumes and responsible entities while checking current national requirements and the eventual EU amendment separately.

The status as of 27 October is a Council negotiating mandate with interinstitutional negotiations ahead. Changes to representative contracts or sales arrangements should follow the enacted text, its application date and the relevant member state’s implementation guidance.

About the Author

PackingMaster reviews paper packaging, converting and the operational effects of packaging rules. The articles distinguish legislative proposals from current duties.

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