After more than a year since the Commission proposed a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the Parliament and Council aim to reach an interinstitutional agreement on this file on Monday 4th March. Ahead of this decisive meeting, Copa and Cogeca solemnly call on the negotiators to find balanced compromises that will enable all agricultural sectors to implement this revision.
The farmers and agricultural cooperatives we represent are committed to and constantly working on improving the sustainability and circularity in their production methods and products. For this, they need a supporting regulatory framework that is fair and feasible, which does not compromise product safety and considers the specificities of different products, and which does not jeopardise the economic viability of our sectors.
It is clear to us that the European Parliament position that was adopted in Plenary in November 2023 strikes the right balance between ensuring that targets are realistic, workable, and environmentally sustainable.
For reuse and refill targets, our sectors including wine, spirits and dairy require measures that do not compromise product safety, and which take into consideration that the reuse of bottles necessitates bottle cleaning and road transportation, thus measures with a significant environmental impact.
For the fruit and vegetables and HORECA sectors, we have consistently called for evidence-based policy not arbitrary restrictions. Here we note that restrictions to single-use packaging as proposed in the Regulation, and opposed by the Parliament negotiating mandate, are not appropriate to achieving environmentally sustainable packaging and packaging waste management. We would recall that food waste has a devastating impact on the environment and that food safety must be safeguarded.
On 20 February, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre published an impact study comparing the environmental impact of single use versus reusable packaging. The study’s results do not support the claim that reuseable packaging has improved environmental outcomes over single-use packaging.
Finally, the negotiators must keep in mind the purpose of this Regulation, which is to harmonise packaging and packaging waste management. This is essential to ensure the achievement of the circular economy, regulatory predictability, and the functioning of the internal market that our sectors depend on. We have concerns over efforts in the Council to allow Member States the possibility to derogate from a harmonised approach regarding single use packaging restrictions for fruit and vegetables, or for reuse and refill – Copa and Cogeca cannot support such an outcome.
At this crucial moment in the negotiations, European farmers and agri-cooperatives are relying on the Parliament and Council to reach an agreement that is workable, and which facilitates the crucial role of our sectors in the circular economy.
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
