MEPs Vote to Suspend EPR Representative Rule for Small Firms Until 2035

The European Parliament has voted 616 to 9, with 39 abstentions, to exempt small and micro enterprises from appointing authorised representatives for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance in every member state where they sell — a carve-out running until 2035, or until a broader circular economy act is adopted.

The position, adopted ahead of trilogue negotiations, covers waste rules on packaging and batteries in the first vote. A second vote on textiles, footwear, electronic appliances and single-use plastics passed 612 to 8, again with 39 abstentions.

Who qualifies for the exemption?

The exemption targets EU-based small and micro enterprises: fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total under €10 million. Under current EU waste legislation, such producers must appoint an authorised representative for EPR compliance in each member state where their products are sold. The European Commission has proposed suspending that obligation in certain sectors to reduce barriers within the EU single market. Parliament has now given that proposal its political backing.

The scope of the relief is narrow by design. The suspension would not touch other obligations under the EPR system, including waste-prevention duties and producer fees. Those fees, paid by producers placing products on the EU market, fund the collection, sorting and recycling of those products once they become waste.

Small firms keep their fees. They lose one form, in one office, per country.

What did the rapporteur say?

Rapporteur Ingeborg ter Laak (EPP, Netherlands) framed the vote as a test of whether environmental policy and market access can coexist. "For European companies to be able to grow and sell, unnecessary administrative burdens should be reduced without compromising our environmental ambitions," she said.

"It is clear that companies should take responsibility for the waste they produce, and that products need to be collected and recycled properly," ter Laak added. "We should reach these goals without creating unnecessary obstacles for the businesses we want to see succeed in Europe. We can show that environmental responsibilities can go hand in hand with economic opportunities."

The words are conciliatory. The vote margins — a combined opposition in single digits across both packages — show how uncontroversial the measure is in Strasbourg.

What else did MEPs demand?

Beyond the representative exemption, Parliament called for structural measures to cut compliance friction across the single market:

• Better information exchange between member states
• Interoperable digital systems for EPR reporting
• Common reporting requirements for companies operating across borders

Those demands signal where the next round of simplification is heading: harmonised data infrastructure rather than country-by-country paperwork. Whether member states build that infrastructure on any common timeline is a separate question.

What happens next?

The file now moves to the European Council, which comprises the heads of government of the 27 EU member states. The Council must adopt its own position before trilogue negotiations on the final form of the laws can begin. Only then do the Commission, Parliament and Council settle the text that will determine which sectors keep the representative obligation, and on what dates the exemptions expire.

The Council position is the milestone to watch. Until it arrives, 2035 remains a proposed deadline, not a settled one.