IHK-Kampagne zur EU-Verpackungsverordnung zeigt Wirkung
Die IHK-Organisation hat sich gemeinsam mit Unternehmen für praxistaugliche Nachbesserungen an der EU-Verpackungsverordnung (PPWR) eingesetzt. Ein zentraler Kritikpunkt war die Pflicht für grenzüberschreitend tätige Unternehmen, in anderen EU-Mitgliedstaaten Bevollmächtigte zu benennen.
Hier ist Bewegung auf EU-Ebene erreicht: Die EU-Kommission hat vorgeschlagen, die Bevollmächtigtenpflicht für in der EU ansässige Unternehmen auszusetzen. Der Umweltausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments unterstützt grundsätzlich eine Ausnahme, will diese allerdings auf Kleinst- und Kleinunternehmen mit weniger als 50 Beschäftigten und weniger als 10 Millionen Euro Jahresumsatz begrenzen. Das Gesetzgebungsverfahren ist noch nicht abgeschlossen.
Die IHK-Organisation setzt sich deshalb weiter für eine praxisgerechte und mittelstandsfreundliche Umsetzung der PPWR ein. Zu den zentralen Forderungen gehören einfachere Dokumentations- und Nachweispflichten, eine EU-weit einheitliche digitale Anlaufstelle für Registrierungen und Meldungen, verlässliche Übergangsfristen sowie eine stärkere Harmonisierung der Verpackungsregeln im europäischen Binnenmarkt.
Die Rückmeldungen aus den Unternehmen bleiben dabei wichtig: Sie zeigen konkret, wo die neuen Vorgaben in der betrieblichen Praxis zu unnötiger Bürokratie, Rechtsunsicherheit und Hemmnissen im europäischen Binnenmarkt führen.
Die Kampagne ist beendet
Die neue EU-Verpackungsverordnung (PPWR) stellt seit dem 12.08.2026 zahlreiche Unternehmen vor erhebliche praktische und bürokratische Herausforderungen. Die IHK Erfurt ist bereits auf vielen Wegen politisch aktiv geworden, die Auswirkungen in Ihrem Interesse abzumildern. Nun ist auch Ihre Unterstützung gefragt. Erstellen Sie in wenigen Minuten mit unseren Textbausteinen Ihre Stellungnahme per E-Mail an die EU Kommission. Je mehr Unternehmen ihre betriebliche Sichtweise schildern, desto höher ist die Chance, dass die praktischen Auswirkungen der PPWR bei den weiteren Auslegungen und Umsetzungsmaßnahmen berücksichtigt werden.
Erstellen Sie mit unseren Textbausteinen hier in wenigen Minuten Ihr Muster-Schreiben (in Englisch) an die EU-Kommission:
Dear Ms. Roswall,
As a trade business owner from Germany, I am writing to you today with an urgent request. The planned implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) as of August 12, 2026, threatens to impose significant additional burdens on us, which could jeopardize my company’s economic viability. There is an urgent need to amend the PPWR.
We are committed to sustainable business practices and recognize the need to reduce packaging waste. Creating a practical and predictable PPWR is essential to achieving and ensuring this goal. Nevertheless, future business operations and regulation must go hand in hand. We believe the PPWR jeopardizes this balance.
- Optionaler Textbaustein A - Bevollmächtigte
For example, Article 44 requires registration in all Member States in which a company operates. In this context, Article 45 requires the appointment of authorized representatives in other countries, as is already required for the distribution of electrical and electronic equipment. Given the significantly lower material value and environmental impact of packaging, this appears disproportionate. The additional burden would be enormous, particularly for us SMEs, and would impede the free movement of goods within the single market.With the One-Stop Shop (OSS) for value-added tax, the EU has demonstrated that cross-border trade can also be regulated centrally, efficiently, and with legal certainty: one registration, one reporting office, one procedure for all 27 Member States. The PPWR takes exactly the opposite approach: Each of the 27 EU countries operates its own national registry, its own licensing system, and its own administrative structure—with different deadlines, different volume definitions, different languages and different penalty regimes.And starting August 12, 2026, in every country where a company does not have a local branch, there will be an additional requirement to appoint a local authorized representative. This is not a reduction in bureaucracy. It is the creation of bureaucracy multiplied by 27.We therefore propose the following adjustments:
- Introduction of an EU-wide one-stop shop for EPR packaging, similar to the VAT OSS: a single registration, a single reporting point, and automatic forwarding to national systems.
- Volume thresholds that effectively ease the burden on SMEs: Companies with less than 500 kg of packaging per country per year must be exempted from country-specific registration requirements.
- Multilingual, EU-wide registration portals: It is unacceptable that, for example, registration in Poland is possible only in Polish.
- Suspension of threats of suspension on trading platforms until a functioning system that is manageable for SMEs is in place.
- A transition period of at least 12 months following the introduction of a uniform procedure before sanctions take effect.
- Optionaler Textbaustein B - Handel
The requirements for identifying the responsible manufacturer on packaging are particularly problematic. For many retail companies and wholesalers engaged in drop shipping, this obligation could have a significant impact on existing business models. For example, many retailers source packaging or packaged products through supplier networks and sell them to their customers through their own online stores. If the contact information of the actual supplier or manufacturer is clearly displayed on the packaging, there is a risk that customers will use this information directly to establish business relationships while bypassing the wholesaler. This would significantly impair the economic function of the wholesale trade.Under the PPWR, a responsible manufacturer must be identifiable. In many cases, therefore, the actual manufacturer or supplier would have to be named on the packaging. For retail companies whose business model is based on acting as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the end customer, however, this leads to significant competitive disadvantages. The regulation thus risks undermining established distribution structures without providing any additional benefit to consumers or the environment.While the so-called “manufacturer fiction” under Article 21 of the PPWR does, in principle, allow a retailer to identify itself as the producer and assume the corresponding obligations—thereby avoiding the need to display the actual supplier’s contact information on the packaging—in practice, this results in a complete transfer of producer responsibility to the retailer. For small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, this represents an additional legal and administrative burden that is often disproportionate to the intended purpose.We therefore propose the following adjustments:
- Clarification of labeling requirements: It should be expressly permitted to identify the economic operator responsible for compliance with the PPWR without being required to disclose the contact details of the actual manufacturer or upstream supplier.
- Creation of a “Responsible Economic Operator” solution: Similar to other EU legal acts, it should be sufficient to designate a responsible economic operator who is accessible to authorities and fulfills the obligations under the PPWR.
- Protection of legitimate business interests: The PPWR should explicitly recognize that retail and wholesale companies can protect their supplier relationships, provided that traceability and market surveillance remain ensured.
The free internal market is a core promise of the European Union. A regulation that, in practice, can only be complied with by large corporations with their own compliance departments undermines this promise. Small and medium-sized enterprises—the backbone of the European economy—are not protected by this regulation but are instead excluded from cross-border trade.
I urge you to address this issue and advocate for a practical solution.
I urge you to address this issue and advocate for a practical solution.
Best regards
Adressaten Ihrer Stellungnahme
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Hauptadressatin: Frau Jessika Roswall, EU-Kommissarin für Umwelt, Wasserresilienz und wettbewerbsfähige KreislaufwirtschaftJessika.ROSWALL@ec.europa.eu oder postalisch an:Ms. Jessika RoswallCommissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy European CommissionRue de la Loi 2001049 BrusselsBelgium
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Regionale Adressatin: Frau Marion Walsmann, Abgeordnete des EU-Parlamentmarionerika.walsmann@europarl.europa.eu oder postalisch an:Frau Marion Walsmann, MdEPEuropäisches ParlamentASP 14E218Rue Wiertz 601047 BrüsselBelgie
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Ihre Ansprechpartnerin in der IHK Erfurt: Frau Antje Welz, welz@erfurt.ihk.de