KontorBund — Note The suspension that didn't happen
Last checked 14 August 2026
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The suspension that didn't happen

Last checked14 August 2026

KeeperOpen — keeper wanted

StatusCould still change — see below

If you're waiting for this to be cancelled

Stop waiting. The obligation that took effect on 12 August 2026 is live. The proposal that would have suspended it was dropped from the Council's negotiating mandate on 24 June 2026, and it would never have covered third-country producers anyway.

What was proposed

The Environmental Omnibus proposal, COM(2025) 982, would have suspended the Art. 45(3) PPWR authorised-representative obligation until 1 January 2035.

Who it would have covered: Producers already established in the EU selling cross-border into other member states.
Who it would not have covered: Third-country producers. A seller in the UK, the US or anywhere outside the Union was never going to benefit from this, at any point.
How long the relief would have run: Until 1 January 2035.

This is the detail most coverage lost. The suspension was reported widely enough that people outside the EU came away believing their obligation was about to be paused. It never applied to them.

What the Council did

On 24 June 2026 the Council adopted its negotiating mandate on four of the six Omnibus files — and did not proceed with the EPR suspension. The EPR provisions were dropped from the mandate, opposed by a large majority of member states.

Date: 24 June 2026
What was adopted: A negotiating mandate on four of the six Omnibus files.
What happened to the EPR suspension: Dropped from the mandate, against opposition from a large majority of member states.

Where Parliament is

The European Parliament's ENVI rapporteur has separately proposed narrowing the carve-out so that it would apply only to micro and small enterprises. A committee vote is expected around 1 October 2026.

Two reasons not to plan around it

First, 1 October is after the application date — the obligation has already been live for seven weeks by then, and a vote does not retroactively unregister you.

Second, with the EPR provisions out of the Council's mandate, there is no Council counterpart for Parliament to negotiate against on this point. A committee position on its own does not change the law.

What this means for you

You're a third-country seller: Nothing here was ever going to help you. The obligation applies. See the Germany and Austria desks.
One wrinkle worth knowing, in the other direction: Art. 45(3) has two sentences. The first makes the representative compulsory for producers established in another member state. The second says member states may impose it on producers established in third countries — so for a non-EU seller it is technically a national option rather than a direct EU duty. Germany and France have both plainly taken it. Whether all twenty-seven have is a question nobody has published an answer to, and we are not going to assume one. Plan on needing a representative everywhere; tell us if you find a state that doesn't ask for one.
You're EU-established, selling cross-border: You were the intended beneficiary, and the relief did not arrive. The obligation applies to you too.
You've been holding off, waiting for clarity: The clarity is that it's live. Every week of waiting is a week of trading against a rule that is already in force.

This position could still change. Files reopen, mandates get revisited, and the ENVI vote in October is real even if it currently has nothing to negotiate against. What we are telling you is what is true on 14 August 2026. If it moves, we'll write another note and say what changed — we won't quietly edit this one.

Sources

This note is about the legislative process rather than a settled legal text, so it is inherently less firm than a country desk. Treat the dates as the solid part and the outlook as our reading.

COM(2025) 982 — Environmental Omnibus proposal The proposal that would have suspended the Art. 45(3) obligation until 1 January 2035 for EU-established producers
Council of the European Union — press releases Source for the 24 June 2026 negotiating mandate covering four of the six Omnibus files, and for the EPR provisions being dropped
European Parliament — ENVI committee Source for the rapporteur's proposal to narrow the carve-out to micro and small enterprises, and the expected committee vote around 1 October 2026
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) — Art. 45(3) The obligation itself, which the proposal would have suspended and which remains in force

Tell us if this moves

Legislative files are the hardest thing on this site to keep current, and this note will go stale faster than any country desk. If you see the EPR provisions reappear in a mandate, or the ENVI vote land differently, say so and we'll write the follow-up.

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