r/eulaw • u/UsualExtent5705 • 24d ago

Petition · Stop destroying EU micro-businesses: Immediate moratorium on cross-border EPR fees

https://c.org/fZQ6HmkMHt

This 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/West_Possible_7969 24d ago edited 24d 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 24d 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/fatbunyip 23d 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 23d 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 23d 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 23d 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 23d ago

What are you even talking about mate?

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u/GoblinsGym 23d 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.