MEPs Vote to Scrap Country-by-Country Waste Envoys for Firms Under 50 Staff

Small companies selling packaging, batteries, textiles, shoes, electrical goods and single-use plastics across EU borders would no longer need to appoint an authorised representative in every member state where they trade, under a position the European Parliament has now adopted.

The exemption covers businesses with fewer than 50 employees and annual turnover or a balance sheet total below €10 million. It would run until 2035, or until a broader circular economy law takes effect. Other extended producer responsibility (EPR) duties — fees, registrations and waste-prevention requirements — stay in place regardless.

MEPs backed the change by a wide margin. The vote on battery and packaging waste drew 616 in favour, 9 against and 39 abstentions; the file covering textiles, shoes, electrical equipment and single-use plastics passed with 612 yes, 8 no and 39 abstentions. That amounts to more than 80% of the chamber in support of blanket relief. Parliament rejected a full deletion of the Commission's proposal and kept part of the representative requirement intact.

Manufacturers based outside the EU gain nothing from the new rules and must still appoint a representative in each member state where they sell.

Anti-circumvention clause and digital fixes added

To stop firms splitting up or restructuring purely to qualify as small, MEPs inserted a safeguard clause. They also called for better information exchange, interoperable digital systems and shared reporting obligations.

Ingeborg ter Laak (EPP, NL) is steering the file for talks with the Council of the European Union. Greens and Left had earlier tried and failed to limit the exemption to the packaging regulation alone.

The European Commission floated the temporary suspension of the EPR representative duty until early 2035 in December 2025 as part of its so-called omnibus programme. An ENVI committee proposal dated 9 October 2026 then set out a suspension until 1 January 2035 for micro and small enterprises. EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall is pushing for entry into force before Christmas, while MEP Jutta Paulus (Greens) does not expect trilogue negotiations to begin before January 2027.

A comprehensive circular economy act is due from the Commission later in 2026, with 18 November circulating as a possible date. The Council must still settle its own negotiating position before inter-institutional talks can start.

Paperwork burden grew with packaging rules

Pressure on retailers has climbed sharply. When the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) took effect on 12 August 2026, registration and the naming of representatives in each country of sale became mandatory. So far only about two-thirds of EU countries have implemented the requirements.

In Germany, national legislation implementing the EU packaging regulation provides for a waiver of fines for violations until 12 February 2027. A push by the German environment ministry for a 10-tonne threshold found no support at European level and was dropped.

Industry reaction has been blunt. Eva Behling, head of legal and compliance at the German e-commerce and mail order association (bevh), said the relief does not go far enough. Her organisation wants a complete exemption from all EPR duties for small volumes plus a central portal for all reporting. The bevh argues a swift EU agreement is essential, since the current representative requirement amounts in practice to an export ban for many retailers.

Figures from individual businesses show what cross-border trade costs. Publisher Anton G. Leitner ships roughly 200 books a year to other EU countries, and registration runs to several hundred euros per destination. At car dealership Kunzmann, which sends up to 400 parcels a day, the extra workload adds up to around €20,000 a year and ties up three staff, according to company figures.