Joint letter to European Commission to protect the stability of the PPWR

Over 100 stakeholders from across the packaging value chain – including companies, national and international trade associations and non-governmental organisations – coordinated by Reloop, an international platform that works with governments, industry and businesses to accelerate the global transition towards a circular economy for all resources, have in recent days jointly signed a letter addressed to European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné and Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall in support of safeguarding the integrity of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The letter expresses serious concern about the recent debate that has emerged around the prospect of amending the PPWR in the context of forthcoming discussions on the so-called Environmental Simplification Package.

According to the signatories, the PPWR represents a central pillar of the European framework for the circular economy, providing the level of regulatory certainty required to support long-term investment in circular infrastructure across the EU market. They consider that any move to reopen this legislative act, even for seemingly limited amendments, would risk creating uncertainty, slowing the progress under way and jeopardising the EU’s objective of doubling circular material use by 2030. “Maintaining the integrity of the existing Regulation is essential to delivering on Europe’s strategic goals, including the Clean Industrial Deal’s target to double the circular material use rate to 24% by 2030. This ambition is wholly dependent on market stability and predictable legislation”, the letter explicitly states. It therefore calls on the European Commission to honour the political commitments already made and to preserve the stable framework needed to achieve Europe’s circular economy objectives.