EU PPWR FAQs Updated August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 25
Therefore, if a packaging or its components does not fall under the established exemptions in
Article 6(11), and does not qualify as innovative packaging, the manufacturers must improve
packaging design to be compliant with the DfR guidelines from 2030 or two years after the entry
into force of the delegated acts adopted under Article 6(4), specifying DfR requirements.
Nonrecyclable integrated components may lower the recyclability grade of a unit of packaging or
may even make the entire packaging unit non-compliant.
3) What is the process for granting the derogation and what are the expected timelines
for its completion? What specific criteria does the Commission use to assess
innovativeness?
The process is outlined in Article 6(10). Member States enjoy a margin of discretion implement the
process in their national legislation while respecting the rules outlined in that provision.
The criteria are outlined in Article 3(1), point (46), and the Commission is currently not envisaging
the adoption of further guidance in this regard. Manufacturers using this exemption from the
recyclability requirements must evidence compliance with these criteria in the technical
documentation.
4) Can Member States apply their own eco-modulation criteria?
Under Article 6(4)(d), the Commission will outline a framework concerning the modulation of
financial contributions based on the packaging recyclability performance grades to be paid by
producers to comply with their EPR obligations set out in Article 45(1).
This harmonised framework is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of EU internal market,
by preventing regulatory fragmentation and ensuring legal uncertainty for economic operators, in
particular those placing packaging on the market in several Member States, while at the same time
incentivising more sustainable packaging design. Divergent national eco-modulation schemes
based on recyclability performance could otherwise create obstacles to trade and distort
competition within the internal market.
The harmonised framework will not set the actual amounts of such fees but will instead harmonise
the criteria for the modulation of EPR fees based on the recyclability performance grade obtained
through the recyclability assessment. Until the entry into force of the harmonised eco-modulation
rules, Member States will remain able to eco-modulate fees based on the recyclability of packaging
in accordance with their national provisions adopted under the PPWD. In doing so, Member States
must consider the potential impact of such measures on the internal market. Where national
ecomodulation measures constitute technical regulations or rules affecting products, they must be
notified to the Commission in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535 16 through the TRIS
notification system.
Following the entry into force of the delegated act on design for recycling, which will establish a
harmonised framework for eco-modulation of EPR fees based on packaging recyclability
performance grade, Member States will be required to apply this harmonised framework. This
obligation aims to ensure the consistent application of eco-modulation rules across the Union and
to safeguard the free movement of goods.
However, Member States will continue to be able to eco-modulate financial contributions of
producers on the basis of other criteria, such as recycled content, the presence of substances of
concern, or the reusability of packaging. If Member States decide to introduce eco-modulation
based on the presence of recycled content in plastic packaging, they will be required to take into
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Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a
high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive
(EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148, (OJ L 333 27.12.2022)
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