Brussels-based Europen (the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment) is among 60 European Union and national industry associations that have combined to release a joint statement urging the EU to “safeguard the free movement of packaged goods.” The co-signatories say they are concerned about EU member states using the Circular Economy Package to “pav[e] the way to effectively renationalize packaging policy in the near future, opening the door to the loss of the Single Market for all packaged goods.”
This high level of concern relates to some nations expressing a desire to change the legal base for the review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) from the Single Market administrative area to Environmental Protection, “laying the foundation for a Pandora’s box of diverging national regulations,” says the coalition. The co-signatories are urging EU policymakers to retain and confirm the Single Market as the sole legal base of the PPWD as it formulates its Circular Economy Package.
“At a time when the EU is facing unprecedented challenges, we urge all three EU Institutions to explicitly defend the free movement of goods,” says Hans Van Bochove of Coca-Cola, who also is the chairman of Europen. “It is a core principle of the EU [that] should not be taken for granted and needs to be defended on a daily basis, or it will be eroded. Member states will be shooting themselves in the foot if they allow the Single Market for packaged goods to unravel,” he adds. “We would quickly end up with a patchwork of disparate national rules on packaging ending the free movement of goods and leading to trade issues between EU member states.”
“This is not just a technical, legal question that can be swept under the carpet,” comments Virginia Janssens, managing director of Europen. “This is an important political question with serious consequences for member states, businesses and consumers. We support the environmental goals of the Circular Economy Package. However, it is not through the fragmentation of the internal market that these goals will be achieved. On the contrary, a strengthened EU Single Market with the proper functioning of trade across the EU is essential to provide the necessary scale in supply chains, operations, investment and innovation for successful Circular Economy solutions.”
Europen describes itself as an EU industry association that presents the opinion of the packaging supply chain in Europe on issues related to packaging and the environment, across all types of packaging materials. Europen members include multinational companies in the packaging value chain (raw material producers, converters and brand owners) plus national packaging organizations, in collaboration with their suppliers and customers.