Brussels, 22 August 2018 – EUROPEN and 67 other European and national associations1 representing a wide range of packaging materials and sectors across the packaging value chain, have announced joint recommendations2 on the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, i.e. the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP).
The 68 organisations acknowledge the problem of plastic pollution and are committed to finding solutions. They call on the EU to make sure that all intended and unintended consequences of the proposal are properly evaluated, and not to sacrifice legislative quality, effectiveness and workability for speed. In order to help inform negotiations, the co-signatories make 9 recommendations with concrete suggestions to improve and clarify the text in line with core policy principles such as policy coherence, Better Regulation and proportionality.
The recommendations aim to ensure that:
- a coherent EU Policy framework for packaging is maintained,
- the Internal Market is safeguarded,
- the root causes of marine litter are addressed holistically,
- meaningful innovation and investments are incentivised with sufficient development time from R&D to commercialisation
“Some aspects of the proposal challenge core policy principles of Better Regulation, which is of concern for all materials and sectors in the packaging value chain,” said Hans van Bochove of Coca-Cola European Partners and EUROPEN Chairman. “With this cross-industry statement we want to clarify our common overarching objectives as value chain partners. It is crucial that policies contain clear definitions and are based on a complete evidence-based impact assessment to maintain confidence in an informed law-making process and avoid possible unintended consequence,” underlined Van Bochove.
“Industry players are affected in different ways and at different levels, directly and indirectly by the SUP,” said Virginia Janssens, EUROPEN Managing Director. “The complexity of and interlinkages between impacts along the value chain must be kept top of mind if we want to avoid negative unintended effects and secure a meaningful, coherent policy framework. Our united message offers recommendations and a continued commitment and willingness to be part of the solutions. To this end, EUROPEN will contribute to ensure policy coherence based on a fact-finding research, resulting in an effective roadmap,” she concluded.
