Insights

The EU Institutions are currently adding the finishing touches to the new Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (“PPWR”) which is expected to be adopted in Q4 2024 or Q1 2025. While many companies are fully preoccupied with preparing for other EU legislation (e.g. the Deforestation Regulation) – companies will ignore the PPWR at their peril. The PPWR contains a host of ambitious legal targets and requirements – which industry will find it difficult to achieve in practice. And the deadlines to comply – are perhaps even more challenging. Companies will need to start preparing for the EU PPWR now, to avoid serious problems – including supply-chain disruption, penalties and litigation – in the future.

At the beginning of the year, we brought to your attention that a number of important Belgian and EU legislative changes are likely to have an impact in 2024: there are new laws that have been adopted and proposals that are expected to firm up into law.

In an era where regulatory landscapes are rapidly evolving, companies with a footprint in the European Union must stay vigilant and adaptable. The EU has recently unveiled a comprehensive set of guidelines that impose fresh obligations on both EU and non-EU based companies operating within its borders. This client alert is the first in a series designed to decode the complexities of the new EU regulations and provide actionable insights for businesses to ensure full compliance[1]. Stay tuned as we unravel the details of these pivotal changes and guide you through the steps your business needs to take to align with the EU's heightened regulatory standards.

An inescapable part of marketing your (non-food) products consists of managing the risks caused by defective and/or non-compliant products. To deal with the legal aspect of this risk, economic operators must take measures prior to putting their products on the market as well as once the product has been commercialized.

For any company marketing a product, managing the risks associated with defective or non-compliant products is a key part of the process, both prior to and during commercialization. In particular, you will first need to determine which regulatory framework applies by mapping out the context in which the product is to be made available. Then, once the product has been placed on the market, you will need to know how to handle the various issues that could arise in relation to safety or regulatory non-compliance.