What changed

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2026)0345

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council suspendingSuspending the application of the rules on the appointment of an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility for batteries and waste batteries and packaging and packaging waste (Omnibus VIII on environmental legislation)

(COM(2025)0982 – C100335/2025 – 2025/0395(COD))

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

PE788.916

Amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 20 October 2026 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council suspending the application of the rules on the appointment of an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility for batteries and waste batteries and packaging and packaging waste (COM(2025)0982 – C10-0335/2025 – 2025/0395(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2025)0982),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 192(1) and 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C100335/2025),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the French Senate,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 18 March 2026,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 May 2026,

– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (A10-0266/2026),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Recital 3 a (new): (3a) Producers placing products on the market in several Member States are currently subject to divergent registration procedures, reporting formats and information requirements under extended producer responsibility schemes. Such fragmentation creates unnecessary administrative burdens and compliance costs and may hinder the proper functioning of the internal market. In order to support the free movement of goods while ensuring effective implementation and enforcement of extended producer responsibility obligations, pending the application of the [Circular Economy Act], Member States should facilitate the exchange of information concerning producer registrations, compliance status and enforcement actions. In addition, the Union should take the necessary action to ensure the establishment of interoperable digital systems and common reporting requirements enabling producers to fulfil administrative obligations across the Union through simplified and harmonised procedures.

Article 2 a (new): Article 2a / Safeguards / 1. The suspension provided for in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to all other obligations of producers under Union law, including registration, reporting, payment of financial contributions, provision of guarantees, participation in extended producer responsibility schemes, and compliance with waste-prevention, collection, reuse and recycling obligations. / 2. The suspension provided for in this Regulation shall not apply to producers that split or restructure their activities for the purpose of benefiting from this suspension.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Commission proposal aims to temporarily suspend the authorised representative requirements under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and Regulation (EU) 2025/40 in order to reduce administrative burdens linked to extended producer responsibility obligations. The Rapporteur welcomes the objective of reducing unnecessary administrative burdens for companies engaging in cross-border activities within the Union and strongly welcomes the Commission’s intention to present a future Circular Economy Act establishing a more coherent and horizontal framework for extended producer responsibility obligations across Union legislation. The rapporteur would like to emphasize the urgent need for such a full-fledged horizontal review, which she expects to address the larger underlying fragmentation resulting in unnecessary administrative burden and costs for businesses. While awaiting these Commission proposal(s) and their legislative adoption, the rapporteur considers that the current proposal should be further refined to ensure that the simplification measures remain targeted and temporary in nature. To this end, the rapporteur proposes several targeted amendments in the draft report.

Firstly, the amendments limit the proposed simplification to micro and small enterprises engaging in cross-border activities within the Union. Such enterprises often face more limited administrative and financial capacity to cope with the current fragmented landscape, whereas medium-sized and large enterprises are generally better equipped to comply with authorised representative requirements. The amendments therefore seek to ensure that the temporary suspension addresses those enterprises for which the administrative burden is most significant, while preserving the authorised representative requirement for larger economic operators.

Secondly, the amendments clarify that the suspension should remain strictly temporary pending the future horizontal review of extended producer responsibility obligations under the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, as announced in the Commission Work Programme 2026. In line with concerns regarding the growing fragmentation of Union legislation in the field of extended producer responsibility, the amendments aim to avoid overlapping regulatory regimes and strengthen legal consistency and coherence across Union legislation. The amendments therefore provide that the suspension shall cease to apply upon application of the future Circular Economy Act.

Thirdly, the amendments maintain the current regulatory framework for producers established in third countries. As recognised by the Commission proposal itself, ensuring traceability and enforcement regarding producers established outside the Union remains significantly more challenging, given that such producers fall outside the territorial scope of Member States’ enforcement powers and Union administrative cooperation mechanisms. In these cases the authorised representative remains an essential enforcement and traceability tool for national authorities. For that reason, the amendments maintain the current regulatory framework with regards to the appointment of authorised representatives for third-country producers and remove the possibility for alternative enforcement mechanisms by Member States, thereby ensuring a clear and uniform enforcement framework across the Union as intended by the respective regulations.

Finally, the amendments clarify that the proposed simplification measures remain strictly limited to the administrative obligation concerning the appointment of authorised representatives and should not affect the effectiveness or enforcement of extended producer responsibility obligations more broadly. In particular, it should be ensured that the objectives of Union environmental legislation remain fully preserved.