Aalborg: The packaging regulation has applied across the Union since 12 August 2026, yet the national registers that producers need are still not open. The text was adopted on 19 December 2024, and it replaces the old Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. An implementing act that was expected in February 2026 was delayed, so producer registers are not yet operational.
Under the packaging regulation, manufacturers must now carry out a conformity assessment and draw up a declaration of conformity. For the moment this covers substances of concern and restrictions on PFAS in food-contact packaging. Importers, distributors and fulfilment service providers carry verification duties that match their role, and an importer must make sure that the manufacturer has complied.
Most of the harmonised extended producer responsibility rules also apply. Producers must register in each Member State where they first place packaging on the market, and they can comply individually or through a producer responsibility organisation. They also pay eco-modulated contributions, so the packaging regulation links fees to the environmental performance of each pack.
Enforcement starts gently. Member States must first require corrective action before they prohibit, recall or withdraw non-compliant packaging. The Commission encourages authorities to favour awareness-raising and reasonable corrective timelines over sanctions, and it stresses that enforcement under the packaging regulation should not disrupt trade or consumer access. The sources reviewed here do not state fine levels.
Transitional rules soften the first months. Packaging produced before 12 August 2026 but not yet placed on the market does not have to be destroyed, remade or relabelled, and packaging already on the market can stay there even if it does not comply. The PFAS restrictions are the exception, because they have no transitional period under the packaging regulation. Packaging that only transits the Union to a non-EU destination is not placed on the market and falls outside the rules.
The Commission published a guidance document on 5 June 2026 that covers definitions of manufacturer and producer, PFAS enforcement, exemptions and targets, though it does not amend the law. Its FAQs, first published in March 2026 and updated in August, cover labelling, recyclability, recycled content, reuse and refill, producer responsibility and deposit return systems. They also say that the owner of a name or trademark on packaging is presumed to be the manufacturer.
For businesses, the packaging regulation now asks for compliance before the administrative infrastructure exists. Companies should keep their declarations in order while they wait for the registers to open.
