152. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has carried out an assessment of the impact of the authorised representative requirements under Article 45(3) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on Irish micro and small enterprises trading cross-border within the European Union; if so, if he will publish that assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61569/26]

In November 2022, the European Commission published an impact assessment of the measures contained in the proposed PPWR. It is available at this link - https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-packaging-and-packaging-waste_en.

As the PPWR is an EU Regulation, it has direct legal effect in Member States so the impact assessment was undertaken at EU level. The potential impact on SMEs and micro-enterprises was considered as part of the Commission’s overall impact assessment of the PPWR proposal, with the final legislative package providing for specific treatment of SMEs and micro-enterprises to protect against disproportionate burdens.

Nonetheless, I understand that many micro and small enterprises here and across the EU have encountered difficulties with meeting the requirements under the regulation since it went live in August. The Department is working closely with Repak, Ireland’s Producer Responsibility Organisation, to respond to those concerns insofar as is possible within the framework of the EU’s new Regulation. We are also conferring with the European Commission to establish whether improved implementation can be achieved on a harmonised basis across the EU.

The forthcoming proposal for an EU Circular Economy Act may provide a further opportunity to address these issues. The European Commission is expected to publish its proposal for that legislation later this year.