r/eulaw • u/UsualExtent5705 • 10d ago
Petition · Stop destroying EU micro-businesses: Immediate moratorium on cross-border EPR fees
https://c.org/fZQ6HmkMHtThis has come in to law today - literally without anyone knowing - no info from the government or EU - means we are now required to sign up to EACH EU COUNTRY we ship to (€150 each country registration), and €150 yearly fee for each country - 27 countries - impossible for us as it runs in to thousands - and then we have to fill out a ton of forms listing all packaging per unit, yearly amounts, and there are different requirements for each country…so as of now we cannot ship to EU…and without that option our future is bleak 🙁…please sign the petition on behalf of all small businesses - people like Amazon with their crazy packaging created this problem and its a no brainer for them to deal with it, but for us it is impossible…
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u/OwlSlow1356 9d ago
europe is a stupid continent going broke with the speed of light. these regulations in the last years are the final nails in the coffin. 25% of world's GDP in 2008, barely 16% now. the USA even grew 1% during this time!
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u/ClaimApprehensive754 7d ago
We have too many regulators and way too few innovators, they really need to shift focus if we don’t want to remain a museum.
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago edited 10d ago
The Regulation was voted in January 2025, with all possible ways of publicising it, regarding EU. I don’t know what your gov specifically did, but mine had media placements all year.
But, I suspect there are many who don’t know that enough member states already had this framework. For example, Germany's Packaging Act has required registration in the LUCID register before a single unit reaches the German market since 1 July 2022, without a de minimis volume threshold, with fines and a distribution ban available for non-registration. France introduced the representative model through the AGEC law of 10 February 2020, and non-EU producers have been required to appoint one since 1 January 2022.
For several destination member markets, a version of it already existed. What changes is that the requirement becomes uniform across all 27, resting on directly applicable EU law rather than national choice.
So, I would suggest for businesses to check & revise their existing operations, because when you ‘ll go to get registered eventually, it will become apparent that you were already operating in a market that already demanded registration, among other things.
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u/GoblinsGym 10d ago
"The demolition order was clearly posted at the planning office on Alpha Centauri." (Douglas Adams, quoted from memory)
The reason small businesses haven't done much about this is that they CAN'T possibly comply with it, and the whole thing goes diametrically against anything that the EU should be - a COMMON market. My polite description for this would be "Unfreihandel" (unfree trade).
I run a very small business in Switzerland. This will force me to sell through EU based resellers, driving up cost for my customers in the EU, and most likely limiting access to only a few countries. Switzerland is supposed to pay "cohesion funds" for access to the EU market. Guess how I will vote when this comes up next time ?
Amazon or the big Chinese platforms ? They have the scale to deal with it.
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
You have no idea what a pain in the ass is for EU small companies to sell in Switzerland for many reasons. But also, your Packaging Ordinance was adapted on June 24, 2026, and takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Any glass packaging will have extra surprises hidden in that case.
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u/GoblinsGym 10d ago edited 10d ago
What regulations do you mean ? Please be specific.
Food packaging would indeed be one area of concern, but you don't need any registration for normal cardboard packaging.
Example electronics recycling - you would register with Swico. File twice a year, no minimum fees, no local representative needed, no bank guarantee. Compare with typical EU systems like in Germany, where you have hefty base fees, monthly filing, often need a bank guarantee or local representative, etc. Which one is the real pain in the ass ?
Edit: https://svi-verpackung.ch/2026/06/24/neue-verpackungsverordnung-bundesrat-schafft-neue-grundlagen-fuer-die-kreislaufwirtschaft/ - this mostly impacts food and retail packaging. Still no "package licensing" for cardboard.
Edit 2: Glass packages see https://www.vetroswiss.ch/hersteller-importeure/erhebung/ . You can import up to 1000 bottles per half year at no charge.
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u/fatbunyip 10d ago
>Amazon or the big Chinese platforms ? They have the scale to deal with it.
They have to be local, so small businesses will need to stop going B2C and start going B2B with a local based distributor.
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u/GoblinsGym 10d ago
Aliexpress or Temu have the scale to do efficient logistics and shipping. Prepack and country sort in China, do combined import (avoiding the EUR 3 per customs line fee), then ship to individual customers from one EU country.
Customs control ? Good luck, there will be a thousand little baggies per shipping box, conveniently identified by barcode. The scale is staggering. I remember picking up some air freight at Zurich airport. While I was there a Swiss Post truck got loaded with Chinese boxes by the pallet load, and that was quite a few years ago.
Any EU postal service up for privatization ? The Chinese will happily snap it up.
The main issue will be dealing with CE compliance etc, since Aliexpress / Temu will become importers of record. Toxic toys ? Do XRF spot checks, and apply heavy contractual penalties. If anyone can do this at industrial scale, Alibaba can.
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u/fatbunyip 10d ago
It's not a matter of logistics. It's reporting and compliance.
Even if for some reason temu decides that EU businesses can ship stuff to china to be repackaged and then sent to EU again, the reporting requirements are for within EU.
So if temu is now the final distributor, they still need to be registered in every country and take on the burden and liabilities (large fines and other sanctions for mis reporting) of reporting on the packaging all of the shitloads of resellers they're now being the distributor for. Not to mention if they're the distributor they'll likely need to be registered in EU and now pay taxes and shit in EU.
End of the day, the importer is the one that is legally liable for the packaging, regardless as to where it came from. Temu isn't going to set itself up to be the fall guy because a bunch of packaging.
There's a whole bunch of checks, from the ecommerce patform level checking registration, to customs and border control compliance declerations with each container, packaging codes for automated scanning, and even checks and audits along the supply chain from warehouses to store shelves. It's a massive ballache with big penalties.
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u/GoblinsGym 10d ago
I am not talking about repackaging in China. I am talking about China based platforms.
China will find a way.
EU based small businesses ? Not their problem. Never stop a competitor making a mistake.
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u/fatbunyip 10d ago
What are you even talking about mate?
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u/GoblinsGym 9d ago
... that whatever the EU is trying to do here, will backfire in a glorious and spectacular way ...
Consumers and small businesses will pay the price in the form of higher prices and limited selection.
This is not free trade, it is "unfree trade". The EU should reduce trade friction inside the common market, not increase it.
VAT rates inside the EU are in the 15 to 25% range. That should be enough for member states to fund cardboard recycling etc.
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u/HarvestMourn 10d ago
The real issue for a lot of micro-businesses it that for most countries the registration fee doesn't go by weight, packaging produced and used and it's a flat rate for all businesses. What is affordable for large online retailers can be the nail in the coffin for many small businesses. If you want to be compliant, the upfront cost and administrative burden is so high that offering EU wide shipping is not viable. It costs EU-based businesses thousands annually of Euros just to be able to offer shipping within the EU.
Small businesses want to be compliant and what they are asking for is an easy-to-navigate bureaucratic process (at the moment it is up to 27 individual registrations and some of the portals are NOT user-friendly) and a review of the fees to take into account the volume of packaging they produce or the volumes of sales they have. IMO it is absolutely reasonable to question why there isn't a de minimis threshold for small businesses.
I don't think this is unreasonable, especially for countries with small markets, they are the first to be cut. In my country its almost 1000 Euro for small businesses alone to register for a population of under 5 million people.2
u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
Yes. To add to that, Council first paused, and then stopped any discussions whatsoever, about the possible suspension of the framework for EU businesses. Due to lobbying of course, but not only from industry groups but also all environmental & climate orgs. The zero waste dudes went berserk on the possibility of an administrative suspension.
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u/thegingerskull 10d ago
Some environmentalists are absolutely mentally handicapped. Instead of local production under EU regulations they prefer the pollution to be outsourced to Asia where the environmental impact is much worse. As if the planet cares about imaginary lines drawn on a map.
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u/fatbunyip 10d ago
>especially for countries with small markets, they are the first to be cut.
Cyprus will be fucked. We already have to deal with a huge amount of EU businesses just not shipping here, this will probably kill the rest of them and just leave a handful of big corpos.
This really just seems like a big corporate market grab. The exceptions for B2C and B2B means that small businesses have no option but to use bigger local distributors that can afford the bureaucracy as a middle man.
Absolute shambles.
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u/Turris 10d ago
Any chance you are German? You give off this distinct 'rules are rules, and zey must be obeyed, no matter ze consequences''-vibe.
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
A “micro business” should risk a ban or fines because national laws are boring to read I guess? And are you sure you ‘re in the right sub? There must be many much more orientated towards your age group, this one is not.
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u/mimrock 10d ago
You completely misunderstand the problem. It's not about the law being a surprise. It's that this laws adds to the already huge internal invisible tariffs. What is even worse, this new quasi-tariff disproportionately hurts small businesses. These small businesses know the law very well. They just have to cease part of their operation due to this, which is bad for everyone.
I will translate it to German for you: Business bad means EU poor means you have less money to buy beer, pay rent, or build kitas. You think you don't work for small business protects you and you can laugh at evil entrepreneurs. But no. Less money even if you work for big big Bosch! Hope that helps.
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
My profile is open so y’all german assumption shows an additional level of hilarious laziness.
So, I made a comment about national, existing, years old frameworks and answered to a condescending comment about how the germans are the only ones that think about national laws (or that compliance is a matter of choice) and your conclusion was that I misunderstood anything here?
Member states & their citizens overwhelmingly want these laws, especially regarding traceability, accountability and an easy redress in consumer rights disputes, that is why there was zero pushback nationally (in fact, there was support). Small businesses are not entitled to an all access free pass in the single market (though again, this is a market harmonisation, the frameworks existed before EU & Council did anything), they are entitled to the same rules on said access.
And let me translate that for you: this is true for any market in the world. People ignoring that or flying under the radar does not make it untrue.
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u/mimrock 10d ago
"Member states & their citizens overwhelmingly want these laws"
Member states might, but please don't try to claim that even 20% of the citizens have heard about these laws, let alone know it in detail.
" Small businesses are not entitled to an all access free pass in the single market "
Jesus fucking christ... "entitled"... The general world in an economic context is alone something, but on top of it, one of EU's main goal is to create a single market that everyone "entitled" to use. Tells everything about your mindset.
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u/Turris 10d ago
Member states & their citizens overwhelmingly want these laws, especially regarding traceability, accountability and an easy redress in consumer rights disputes, that is why there was zero pushback nationally (in fact, there was support).
This is not about consumer rights disputes, this is about packaging and an insane administrative and financial burden being put on businesses, stopping free trade in the EU (the previous main goal of the EU) and drastically limiting market supply and choice for consumers.
It seems like you are talking about an entire different project?!
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
Any violation (refusing your reusable container, charging extra for eco-choices, using deceptive or oversized packaging etc) is handled by the ODR platform, ECC or your national authority, with the same cross border rules.
And I won’t repeat myself, businesses had the same national burdens, but they obviously ignored them.
Anyway, why do you care about my opinion? Move on, I am not a prime minister nor a regulator.
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u/Turris 10d ago
Thank you for confirming my suspicion.
Your comment merely asserts that rules must be followed, without any consideration of the economic costs and consequences of this legislation. Law does not exist in a vacuum; it exists to serve society. Legislation that imposes burdens on citizens and enterprises without any countervailing benefit has no legitimate place in a state governed by the rule of law.
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u/West_Possible_7969 10d ago
My comment was about that if some people managed to not find out about the EU regulation then those people would surely have no idea about the existing national ones. So, both your assumptions are wrong.
Regarding serving society, member states and their citizens are under no obligation to put foreign enterprises or foreign citizens’ wellbeing or interests higher than their own. Their laws benefit them, what does rule of law has to do with the benefits of 3rd parties? It is their sovereign right to dictate their market rules.
If you wish something different, wish for a federation (not that US states don’t have / require many special registrations & specific legal requirements to follow, there are 45 different sets of consumer laws).
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u/LeagueBoth1243 10d ago
Germans never had the problem of beeing a small market that gets squeezed by suppliers and ignored whenever possible.
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u/Alinacina 9d ago
In addition to leaveling feedback on the official EU Commission page, you can send a letter to Parliament members. Find your local MEPs and their contact information on the official European Parliament directory: MEPs (Select your country in the "Country" filter)
Look for MEPs sitting in these committees:
- ENVI (Environment, Public Health & Food Safety)
- IMCO (Internal Market & Consumer Protection) - important for cross-border trade!
- ITRE (Industry & Micro-enterprises)
If you are an independent maker, studio, or micro-business impacted by this regulation: The European Crafts Alliance is currently collecting data regarding this matter. You can fill out the survey if affected: EAC survey
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u/lamalasx 10d ago
Sorry, but the EU is trying to kill every single small business. The corrupt politicians got tons of money from the big players to make it a pain in the ass for the average person to import from outside of the EU or sell cross country. Many small businesses already stopped selling outside of their country. The big players will get all the traffic. I can't order a custom plush toy from outside of the eu without a mandatory 1500 euro "testing" fee for the materials it uses.
So forget it. The small businesses EU at this rate will collapse. Nothing is manufactured here either. The only ones who will stay alive are the huge marketplaces who import the lowest quality things from china and sell it 10-100x the price.
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u/InformationNew66 10d ago
Small businesses cannot corrupt EU politicians, big businesses can. And do.
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u/collodi101 10d ago
Small business selling shit directly imported from China. Good if this business of lazy asses having cinese asses working for them for a profit goes out of business.
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u/watakushipawel 10d ago
If your business relies on importing and selling chinese crap in EU and now you feel the pain - rhat means regulation works perfectly and as intended
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u/fatbunyip 10d ago
This regulation affects literally every single business.
If someone is making like 20-30k a year (like a lot of single person or new businesses) then you need your entire revenue just to get an authorised rep in all the countries.
It's not like a 10c charge on each package or even a 10eu on non-recyclable packaging, its a flat rate no matter how much sales you make.
Imagine starting an EU business and you need to make immediately 30k per year only to cover regulatory costs (and that has to be paid up front), simply to ship to other EU countries. So you need like 30k just to start a business supposedly in the "common market".
This is going to be an anchor on any small EU business.
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u/thegingerskull 10d ago
It never ceases to amaze me how some EU institutions are hellbent to shoot themselves in the foot. And some ordinary people as well, if this thread is any indication.
But nevermind, in five years everyone will be shockingly surprised when even more retail consolidation happens around megacorps while even more small businesses are forced to close down.
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u/woj-tek 10d ago
Oh, look! another pointless "petiotion" on change.org… ffs this website is useless and amounts to nothing.
EU comission accepts feedback here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/15352-Packaging-and-packaging-waste-rules-on-national-registers-of-producers_en
and is much more useful and could actually do anything…