Temporary relief from waste representative rules for small businesses
Official title: Opschorting van de toepassing van de regels inzake de uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid voor batterijen en afgedankte batterijen en verpakkingen en verpakkingsafval (Omnibus VIII over milieuwetgeving) ***I
Status: Parliament has approved this proposal. (parliament: ‘Adopted’)
In plain language
- The requirement for small EU businesses to appoint an authorized representative in each EU country for battery and packaging waste is temporarily suspended.
- Micro and small businesses in the EU will see lower costs and less paperwork, whereas larger companies and non-EU sellers must continue to follow the rules.
- For everyday consumers, this has little direct impact: waste and recycling targets remain fully in place, but smaller online shops can more easily sell across borders.
Automatically summarised (gemini-3.8-flash). AI can make mistakes: if in doubt, read the official text.
From proposal to law
- Submitted 20 October 2026
- Approved by parliament 20 October 2026
- Signed by the Parliament and the Council not yet
- Published in the Official Journal of the EU not yet
- In force not yet
After the vote, the government (or, for a European law, the Council) still has to sign the proposal. Then it appears in the official journal. This usually takes a few weeks; we check every day.
How parliament voted
Passed on 20 October 2026616 for · 9 against · 39 abstention(s)
In the European Parliament, a parliamentary group is a group of MEPs from like-minded parties in different countries. For each group, you can see how many members voted for or against, or abstained.
- For
- Against
- Abstain
- Dot: colour of the group
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EPP (Christian Democrats) Voted for
168 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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S&D (Social Democrats) Divided
127 for · 0 against · 2 abstentions
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Patriots for Europe Divided
69 for · 5 against · 7 abstentions
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ECR (Conservatives) Voted for
77 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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Renew (Liberals) Divided
71 for · 1 against · 1 abstention
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Greens/EFA Divided
43 for · 0 against · 6 abstentions
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The Left Divided
19 for · 0 against · 22 abstentions
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Non-attached Divided
21 for · 3 against · 1 abstention
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Europe of Sovereign Nations Voted for
21 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
How MEPs voted, by country
Each country elects its own MEPs. Here you can see how the members from each country voted, regardless of their group.
🇸🇰 MEPs from Slovakia
Majority in favour14 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
See all countries
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🇦🇹 Austria
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🇧🇪 Belgium
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🇧🇬 Bulgaria
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🇭🇷 Croatia
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🇨🇾 Cyprus
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🇨🇿 Czechia
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🇩🇰 Denmark
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🇪🇪 Estonia
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🇫🇮 Finland
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🇫🇷 France
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🇩🇪 Germany
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🇬🇷 Greece
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🇭🇺 Hungary
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🇮🇪 Ireland
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🇮🇹 Italy
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🇱🇻 Latvia
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🇱🇹 Lithuania
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🇱🇺 Luxembourg
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🇲🇹 Malta
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🇳🇱 Netherlands
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🇵🇱 Poland
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🇵🇹 Portugal
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🇷🇴 Romania
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🇸🇰 Slovakia
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🇸🇮 Slovenia
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🇪🇸 Spain
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🇸🇪 Sweden
Figures: for / against / abstention.