What’s changing in 2026: Product-related environmental law and supply chain due diligence

Tag: EUDR

What’s changing in 2026: Product-related environmental law and supply chain due diligence

In the area of product-related environmental law, the year 2026 will be characterized at the European level by further implementation steps within the framework of the EU Battery Regulation and the start of application of the EU Packaging Regulation. At the national level, the implementation of these two legal acts is at the center of attention. In addition, purely national accents are being set in the area of electrical equipment regulation. Further developments regarding the implementation of due diligence obligations in various supply chains will also remain a major topic in 2026.

The present article represents the prelude to a series of blog posts with the common title “What’s changing in 2026,” in which the experts of the “Produktkanzlei” team summarize the relevant topics from their respective areas of expertise. In this article, the changes in product-related environmental law that have already been decided or are still in the legislative process are presented first (see under A.). In a second part, the foreseeable developments regarding due diligence obligations in the supply chain are summarized (see under B.).  

A. Product-Related Environmental Law  

Product-related environmental law in all its facets represents a supporting pillar of the dynamically growing regulatory architecture for sustainability, resource efficiency, waste prevention and management, and climate protection. Unfortunately, however, the legislative architects do not always seem to have practical and implementable ideas of how the overall regulatory construct should look and function. Coupled with typical delays, constant plan changes, and accompanying legal uncertainty, this leads to the fact that the plaster on the formerly bright green shining “Green Deal” has already begun to crumble alarmingly during the construction phase.  

For the companies and authorities concerned with execution, the EU Packaging Regulation and the further development of the EU Battery Regulation will be in focus in the year 2026. This is flanked at the European level by the recently announced decisions regarding various exemptions for lead within the framework of the RoHS Directive. At the national level, the short-term amendment to the ElektroG (Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act) is currently causing a stir. Looking ahead, numerous aspects of the Omnibus VIII package published shortly before the turn of the year will lead to further changes to already decided and applicable legal acts in 2026.  

I. EU Packaging Regulation  

The Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on January 22, 2025, and formally entered into force on February 11, 2025. The general date of application is set for August 12, 2026, although further transitional periods apply for numerous obligations, some of which also depend on the adoption of further delegated and implementing acts.  

From August 12, 2026, the following requirements must be complied with:  

  • Substance restrictions for lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, the sum of which in packaging must not exceed 100 mg/kg (Art. 5 para. 4 PPWR).  While this substance restriction has applied for many years under the EU Packaging Directive, the PFAS restriction contained in Art. 5 para. 5 PPWR for packaging that comes into contact with food is a genuine novelty. Nevertheless, there are no further transitional periods for this, and the complex requirements must be complied with directly upon the start of application from August 12, 2026. In addition, the article-related substance restrictions and prohibitions, particularly from the REACH and POP Regulations, continue to apply to packaging.  
  • Performance of a conformity assessment procedure on the basis of technical documentation for each packaging and subsequent issuance of an EU declaration of conformity (Art. 38 et seq. in conjunction with Annex VII and VIII PPWR). A CE marking for packaging, however, is not required from a packaging law perspective. From August 12, 2026, the conformity assessment initially only has to cover compliance with the substance restrictions. Further topics, such as specifically recyclability, minimum recycled content in plastic packaging, labeling, minimization, and reuse, are only to be complied with significantly later and only then become the subject of the conformity assessment.  
  • A very central aspect is also the correct role allocation and thus in particular the delimitation between mere suppliers of packaging materials and packaging, manufacturers of packaging, and downstream distributors.  This is of enormous importance because different obligations are assigned to the individual roles according to Art. 15 et seq. PPWR, and these can consequently only be fully and properly assumed and complied with if the role allocation is correct. Primarily decisive here is the distinction between a mere supplier with pure information obligations under Art. 16 PPWR and the manufacturer with the core obligations under Art. 15 PPWR.  According to Art. 3 para. 1 no. 13 in conjunction with Art. 15 para. 6 PPWR, a corresponding marking is decisive for the manufacturer status, whereby in particular with regard to sales packaging, the entity whose products are packed therein will generally be its manufacturer. In practice, however, a case-by-case analysis based on all circumstances and coordination between the individual actors in the supply chain is always required to arrive at a role delimitation suitable for the respective constellation. This should then ideally be contractually established to avoid misunderstandings. If the manufacturer of packaging is established in a non-EU country, an importer with the obligations under Art. 18 PPWR is also added to the supply chain, whereby it should be noted in particular that the importer has an independent labeling obligation regarding their role.  
  • Finally, reference must be made to the obligations for producers of packaging within the meaning of Art. 3 para. 1 no. 15 PPWR in the area of extended producer responsibility under Art. 44 et seq. PPWR. THE EPR requirements have so far been implemented by national law based on the EU Packaging Directive, so that a national patchwork of detailed regulations has developed. Since the PPWR also largely leaves the implementation of packaging-related extended producer responsibility to the Member States, it can be assumed that there will continue to be national particularities. In Germany, a ministerial draft of a law to adapt packaging law and other legal areas to Regulation (EU) 2025/40 is already available, which intends to replace the previous Packaging Act (VerpackG) with a Packaging Implementation Act (VerpackDG). In terms of content, according to the present draft, the known basic structures will largely remain, which are merely to be adapted in some places to the requirements of the PPWR. Worth highlighting here are in particular new cost-bearing and financing obligations for all producers of packaging and the future possibility of participation for packaging not subject to system participation in a so-called “other organization for producer responsibility.” The Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) has already published initial interpretative guidance on this.  

Finally, it should be pointed out that currently a lot is still in flux and both further interpretative and application notes as well as changes to the text of the PPWR itself and necessary tertiary legal acts are to be expected in the coming weeks and months. For affected companies, close monitoring of further developments is therefore essential in addition to operational preparation in order to recognize possible changes to implementation-relevant aspects at an early stage.  

II. EU Battery Regulation  

Also in the context of the Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (EUBR), which has already been applicable since February 18, 2024, relevant developments are pending for the year 2026.  

First of all, reference must be made to the obligation to designate a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) by January 15, 2026 within the framework of existing registrations according to § 7 in conjunction with § 64 para. 7 BattDG (German Battery Implementation Act). A list of PROs approved so far is available from the stiftung elektro-altgeräte register and is constantly updated. Without the timely designation of a PRO, still existing registrations will lapse without replacement and must be reapplied for if necessary, whereby it must be noted that placing batteries on the market in the period between the lapse of the existing and the granting of the new registration is not permitted.  

In contrast, the obligation to attach a declaration on the carbon footprint for industrial batteries (Art. 7 para. 1 EUBR), which is actually applicable from February 18, 2026, as well as the labeling obligations (Art. 13 para. 1 to 3 EUBR) actually applicable from August 18, 2026, and the obligations for labeling and classification into performance classes for the carbon footprint for EV batteries (Art. 7 para. 2 EUBR) provided for from the same date, will all not apply from the mentioned dates. The reason for this is that according to the statutory regulation, all these obligations only come into effect when specifying delegated acts and implementing acts from the EU Commission have entered into force. In order to give the affected economic operators sufficient time to implement the requirements, the start of application is automatically postponed to a date 18 months after the entry into force of the tertiary legal acts if they do not enter into force in time. Since all necessary tertiary legal acts have not yet been adopted and entered into force, the mentioned obligations will come into effect in mid-2027 at the earliest.  

In this context, reference must be made to the consultation procedure running until January 26, 2026, on the necessary specifications for the labeling of batteries according to Art. 13 para. 1 to 3 EUBR. Unfortunately, in terms of content, it must be stated that the drafts submitted for consultation contain no regulations on numerous practice-relevant aspects (e.g., on the labeling of installed batteries in the supply chain) and yet other regulations go significantly beyond the EUBR itself (e.g., obligations to use QR codes in different situations). In this respect, it remains to be seen how the drafts submitted for consultation will develop further to provide genuine legal certainty. Finally, it should be pointed out that the requirements for carbon footprint labeling contained in the draft do not yet lead to the relevant obligations coming into effect, as further specifications on the performance classes to be labeled are required in additional tertiary legal acts, which are not yet available.  

Furthermore, the so-called Omnibus IV package (proposals COM(2025)504 and COM(2025)501) provides for some facilitations within the framework of the BattVO:  

  • Operating instructions and safety information only for BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) instead of for all batteries 
  • Producer identification: instead of previously internet and email address, only “digital contact”  
  • Importer identification: instead of previously internet and email address, only “digital contact”  
  • Threshold for due diligence obligations at €150 million instead of €40 million  
  • Verification of due diligence obligations only every three years instead of annually.  

Although the legislative procedure for this is currently still ongoing, a conclusion is to be expected in 2026.  

III. RoHS Exemptions  

On November 21, 2025, three long-awaited delegated directives with decisions on renewal applications for central exemptions from the generally existing lead restriction were published:  

  • Delegated Directive (EU) 2025/2364 of the Commission of September 8, 2025, amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for lead as an alloying element in steel, aluminum, and copper (Entries 6a to c Annex III RoHS)  
  • Delegated Directive (EU) 2025/1802 of the Commission of September 8, 2025, amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for lead in high melting temperature type solders (Entry 7a Annex III RoHS)  
  • Delegated Directive (EU) 2025/2363 of the Commission of September 8, 2025, amending Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for lead in electrical and electronic components in glass or ceramic (Entry 7c Annex III RoHS)  

In terms of content, some previously broadly defined exemptions were significantly restricted and cut back to specific use situations. In terms of time, the extended or newly formulated exemptions were consistently calculated very tightly, so that those actors who continue to rely on certain exemptions just barely have or had enough time left to submit new renewal applications with further substantiation for the necessity of the exemptions in time.  

An overview of the current renewal situation, including already submitted new renewal applications, is provided by the RoHS 2 exemptions – Validity and rolling plan, updated as of December 19, 2025.  

IV. National Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG)  

In contrast to the European developments reported so far, the Second Act to Amend the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, published in the Federal Law Gazette on November 27, 2025, and generally applicable since January 1, 2026, represents a purely national development in Germany without an immediate background in EU law. Essentially, the following innovations and changes were introduced:  

  • New requirements for the take-back of single-use and reusable e-cigarettes and electronic tobacco heaters by all distributors of the same from July 1, 2026 (Sec. 17 para. 1a ElektroG). Actually affected by this are those distributors of such products who were previously not yet obliged to take back due to not reaching the size threshold for the general take-back obligation. The take-back obligation must not be made dependent on the purchase of a new product and also applies to distance selling. The new take-back obligation also leads for the first time to the intervention of the information obligations from Secs. 18 and 18a ElektroG for the newly affected distributors, which entails additional implementation effort.  
  • Expansion of the manufacturer and distributor information obligations in Sec. 18 para. 3 and 4 ElektroG by adding an information obligation regarding risks when handling lithium-containing batteries since January 1, 2026.  If the distributor simultaneously has information obligations under Art. 74 para. 4 EUBR and the necessary information on lithium-containing batteries is already contained therein, a duplication of information does not appear necessary.  
  • Furthermore, the distributor information in distance selling must since January 1, 2026, not only be clearly visible but additionally also easy to find. This is concretized in the explanatory memorandum to the law (BT-Drs. 21/1506, p. 26) as follows: “In addition to good visibility of the information, it must also be ensured that the information is easily findable on the website, for example, by being able to be called up via a search function or reached directly via the website’s control menu. To ensure that the information can definitely be perceived without a separate search when ordering corresponding products, it must either be displayed on the pages with the corresponding products or displayed before or during the order. This has to be taken account for the page design on smartphones, where there is less space on the individual page, and it has to be ensured through the display of the symbol before or during the order that the notice is perceived.” 
  • In the newly inserted Sec. 18a para. 2 and 3 ElektroG, supplementary specifications are made for the marking of collection and take-back points in stationary retail, which apply from July 1, 2026. According to this, distributors must place the symbol according to Annex 3a in color as well as clearly visible and legible at least in DIN A4 format in the immediate field of vision of the customer flow in the entrance area of their retail store. They must also inform about how the take-back takes place in their retail store.  
Symbol according to Annex 3a ElektroG
  • Furthermore, likewise from July 1, 2026, distributors must point out clearly visibly in their retail store with the symbol according to Annex 3 (symbol of the crossed-out wheeled bin) in the immediate vicinity of the sales location of the electrical equipment that waste electrical equipment is to be disposed of separately from unsorted municipal waste. This is concretized in the explanatory memorandum to the law (BT-Drs. 21/1506, p. 26) in such a way that the symbol is to be placed, for example, on the shelf itself immediately next to the price indication. The symbol should accordingly correspond in design and font size to the price indication for the respective product.  
  • Sec. 18a para. 4 ElektroG furthermore concretizes the information obligations for distance sellers likewise from July 1, 2026. According to this, distance sellers must place the symbol according to Annex 3a clearly visibly and legibly in the presentation media used by them on the pages with the corresponding products or before or during the order.  They must also inform about how the pick-up according to Sec. 17 para. 2 sentence 2 ElektroG and the take-back according to Sec. 17 para. 2 sentence 4 ElektroG take place.  
  • Finally, it should be pointed out that since January 1, 2026, it is mandatory to also enclose in writing the information according to Sec. 19a ElektroG for so-called b2b devices. This means a complete enclosure in paper form, and mere accessibility via a link or QR code is not sufficient.  

VI. Other Topics  

Beyond the topics highlighted in detail above, other topics will also continue to be of relevance in the year 2026:  

  • Implementation of the new obligations to introduce a national regime of extended producer responsibility based on Directive (EU) 2025/1892 amending the Waste Framework Directive. The scope of the new requirements will cover certain CN codes of Chapters 61 and 62 for textiles, accessories, and shoes (CN codes 6401 to 6405). The main obligated party will be the so-called producer, i.e., the one who is established in a certain Member State and hands over covered products for the first time in this Member State or the one who, as a distance seller, sells products directly to end consumers in another Member State. The obligations will include a national registration and take-back obligations and are to be transposed into national law by June 17, 2027, so that a legislative procedure regarding this is to be expected in the course of the year 2026.  
  • With the Omnibus VIII package published on December 10, 2025, the EU Commission has proposed a great abundance of simplifications in the area of environmental regulation. Many of the requirements have no direct product reference. However, at this point, reference should be made in particular to the plans to fundamentally reform and restrict the system of authorized representatives within the framework of the extended producer responsibility regimes and, furthermore, to further harmonize and simplify the regimes themselves. In addition, packaging law aspects are also to be taken up again in this course.  

Finally, it should be mentioned that the year 2026 is also likely to be characterized by further enforcement measures and related court decisions, particularly within the framework of the Single-Use Plastics Fund Act and other legal acts introduced in recent years, so that in addition to legislative developments, case law could certainly set interesting accents.  

B. Due Diligence Obligations in the Supply Chain  

The regulations on due diligence obligations in the supply chain underwent significant changes at the end of 2025, which economic operators must now prepare for in 2026. At the forefront is the agreement of December 9, 2025, between the Council of the EU, the EU Parliament, and the EU Commission on the Omnibus I package. The resulting legislative amendments, originally initiated by the EU Commission on February 26, 2025 (see also our blog post “OMNIBUS Initiative and possible adjustments to the LkSG – What is planned or already implemented?” of April 23, 2025), lead to substantial innovations for the Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD) and the Directive (EU) 2022/2464 on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD). These are presented below, as well as the impact of the CSDDD on the LkSG (German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act) as the national implementation act. In addition to the Omnibus I package, the Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free supply chains (EUDR) was postponed by one year and adjusted content wise at the last possible moment in 2025. Here, too, the most important innovations are presented and the consequences for companies in 2026 are explained.  

Regardless of the presentation and evaluation of the content-related changes, it is worth mentioning from the authors’ point of view that a majority in the EU Parliament for the mentioned changes only came about due to the vote of the conservative EPP group together with the right-wing and far-right groups “Patriots for Europe,” “Europe of Sovereign Nations,” and “European Conservatives and Reformists.” The agreement was preceded by an often emotional and barely scientifically grounded political discourse about necessary adjustments to the legal acts. In this respect, it is questionable whether the adopted changes actually lead to facilitations for companies as claimed and, in particular, provide a long-term answer to the multiple challenges in supply chains.  

I. Omnibus I Package  

The EU Parliament passed the legislative package on December 16, 2025. The formal confirmation in the Council of the EU and the subsequent publication in the Official Journal are still pending. Only then can the changes enter into force.  

The CSRD undergoes a drastic restriction of the personal scope of application. Only companies that had an annual turnover of 450 million euros and an average of 1,000 employees in the relevant financial year will be covered. Thus, only 10% of the previously obligated companies will be covered by the CSRD in the future. However, the obligation of the Commission to investigate an expansion of the scope and to report on it annually from 2029 remains.  

In addition to a change in the scope of application, changes with regard to the report-relevant data points can be expected in 2026. The basis for this is the drafts of the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) published by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) at the end of 2025. On their basis, the EU Commission will now adapt Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772, which sets the standards for sustainability reporting. The drafts reduce the relevant data points by 61% and should thus simplify the preparation of the reports. Furthermore, it is also no longer planned to develop sector-specific data requirements, which were previously still being awaited.  

The amendments to the CSRD must be transposed into national law by the Member States 12 months after entering into force. Germany has already missed the previous implementation deadline of July 6, 2024. It is now to be expected that the CSRD, including the latest amendments, will be implemented in 2026. Even if many companies are no longer directly affected by the CSRD in the future, it is to be expected that, among others, banks and insurance companies will continue to request similar reports form their customers to those to be created under the CSRD. It remains to be seen whether a simplification actually occurs or whether additional work arises for companies due to different reporting requirements on the market.  

The CSDDD was also severely restricted overall with regard to the scope of application. Only companies that had a turnover of 1.5 billion euros worldwide and an average of over 5,000 employees in the last financial year will be obligated. Member States are free to expand the scope. Furthermore, the regulations are to apply mandatorily for the first time in July 2029 and thus yet another year later than after the last amendment of April 2025. With regard to the due diligence obligations to be fulfilled, it should be easier for companies in future to focus on identifying and assessing particularly likely negative impacts in the supply chain. Accordingly, the prioritisation of activities to prevent, mitigate and end such impacts should also be facilitated. What sounds like a sensible approach at first causes considerable legal uncertainty, as the law works here with a number of undefined legal terms that stand in the way of a clear guideline for companies. Legal violations leading to damage for those affected can, however, not be prosecuted under civil law uniformly across Europe as before, but only according to the applicable national regulations. Furthermore, the obligation to create and implement a climate transition plan was repealed.  

The amendments to the CSDDD will likely mean no significant changes for the LkSG (German Supply Chain Act). However, since the Federal Government has announced it will implement the CSDDD 1:1, the scope of application of the LkSG could at least be restricted. The currently available draft of the LkSG amendment (BT_Drs. 21/2474) from October 2025 does not yet provide for this. Instead, it contains a strong reduction of sanctionable violations against the LkSG and an abolition of the reporting obligation under § 10 para. 2-4 LkSG. A consultation in the Bundestag is still pending, and it is likely to be expected that in this course the amendment of the CSDDD will find its way into the amendment of the LkSG. Companies should therefore observe this process attentively in 2026.  

II. EUDR  

Shortly before the former start of application of the EUDR on December 30, 2025, it was postponed by 1 year to December 30, 2026 by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650. For small and micro-enterprises, it now applies only from July 30, 2027. Furthermore, the “First-Touch Principle” was implemented. According to this, only companies that, as operators, place a relevant product on the market in the EU for the first time must verify without cause whether the goods are deforestation-free, were produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production, and then submit a corresponding due diligence statement. A facilitation within the group of operators is also made if the operators are so-called micro or small primary producers. These are small companies that produce relevant products in a country with low deforestation risk according to the EU Commission’s benchmarking and place them on the market in the EU. In practice, this mainly concerns European agricultural businesses. Instead of a due diligence statement, they must submit a one-time, simplified declaration and are then assigned an identification number.  

Unlike before, so-called downstream operators, i.e., those who transform a relevant product already placed on the market in the EU into another relevant product, and traders, provided they are not SMEs, only have to register in the EU portal “Traces”. In addition, they have to collect basic data on their suppliers and customers (including name and email address) and record the reference number of the due diligence statement or the identification number from their suppliers, insofar as these are operators. However, these data only have to be stored internally for five years. They only have an obligation to check the fulfillment of due diligence obligations themselves if they obtain information about a violation. In addition to the changes mentioned above, however, it will be particularly relevant for many companies that have previously been marginally affected that products with HS code 49 (‘Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry, manuscripts, typescripts and plans, of paper’) are now excluded from the scope of the Regulation. 

Even though significant simplifications have thus already been made for a multitude of actors, the EUDR obliges the EU Commission to check by April 2026 whether further adjustments are necessary to reduce bureaucratic hurdles. On this basis, a new legislative initiative could be started. It should be noted that this check still cannot draw on experiences from the field and furthermore creates renewed significant legal uncertainty for the affected companies. It is to be hoped that a national legal act will be enacted in 2026 in which the open questions regarding responsibilities and sanctions are regulated.  

Outlook  

The year 2026 will continue to remain very dynamic in both product-related environmental law and due diligence regulation and will bring one or two surprises. Therefore, it can only be urgently recommended for companies to closely follow the regulatory developments and court decisions in the relevant areas in order to be able to react to them in a timely and tailored manner.

Do you have any questions about this news, or would you like to discuss it with the author? Please contact: Michael Öttinger und Paul Jäde

13. January 2026 Michael Öttinger & Paul Jäde, M.Sc.
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Michael Öttinger
Lawyer / Counsel
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Paul Jäde, M.Sc.
Lawyer

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EU Commission presents a proposal to amend and simplify the Deforestation Regulation

On October 21, 2025, the European Commission presented a proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (EUDR). The proposed amendment aims at simplifying certain obligations for operators without compromising the environmental objectives of the regulation.

I. Background and cause for the proposed amendment

Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of May 31, 2023 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation came into effect on June 29, 2023, and applies to the raw materials cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soy, and wood, as well as products thereof, provided that they are listed in Annex I EUDR.

The information system for the preparation of the required due diligence statements was opened for registration on December 4, 2024. However, experience so far has demonstrated that significantly more declarations of due diligence are being uploaded than the EU Commission had originally expected. At the same time, concerns about the proportionality of the obligations for downstream operators and small primary producers were raised increasingly.

II. Objectives of the proposed amendment

Against this background, the proposed amendment pursues several key objectives:

  • Reducing administrative burdens
  • Ensuring the functionality of the information system by significantly reducing the number of due diligence statements
  • Maintaining environmental objectives to minimize the EU`s contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation

Due to the very far-reaching requirements and the involvement of many different actors in the implementation of due diligence obligations in the current regulatory context of the EUDR, there was certainly scope for simplifications and discharge without jeopardizing the fundamental protection of the world`s forests.

III. Key changes in the proposed amendment

At first glance, only minor adjustments are being made to achieve these objectives, but this will make things considerably easier for some players in the relevant supply and distribution chains.

1. Introduction of the category of “downstream operators“

A key change is the introduction of the category of “downstream operators.” These are actors who, in the course of their commercial activities, place on the market or export relevant products that have been manufactured using other relevant products, all of which are covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified statement. Until now, such downstream operators have been treated like all other operators and are generally subject to full due diligence obligations, including the obligation to prepare a due diligence statement. In some cases, downstream operators can already refer to due diligence statements from upstream operators, but this does not exempt them from their own responsibility.

This proposal aims to align the obligations of downstream operators with those of traders:

  • Neither downstream operators nor traders will be required to determine whether due diligence obligations have been fulfilled in the future. Furthermore, neither of these actors will be required to submit a due diligence statement.
  • Nevertheless, downstream operators that are not SMEs and non-SME traders must continue to register in the information system in order to maintain transparency in the supply and distribution chains.
  • However, all downstream operators and traders, regardless of their size, must continue to ensure full traceability of relevant raw materials and products by collecting reference numbers from due diligence statements and declaration identifiers and passing them on in the supply and distribution chain.

2. New subcategory: Micro and small primary operators

The proposal introduces a new subcategory of market participants: “micro and small primary operators.” These are natural persons or micro or small enterprises established in a “low-risk” country as defined in Art. 29 EUDR and placing on the market or exporting relevant raw materials and products that they have produced themselves.

These small and micro primary operators will no longer be subject to the obligation to submit a due diligence statement. Instead, they must submit a one-time simplified declaration in the information system for the relevant raw materials and products they produce, with particular emphasis on facilitating geolocation. Upon submission of the simplified declaration, the information system then issues a declaration identifier, which must be passed on in the supply and distribution chain.

3. Adjustment of application dates

Although the proposed amendment does not provide for a general postponement of the effective date of the EUDR, as announced by the EU Commission at the end of September, some deadlines will nevertheless be postponed or newly introduced:

  • The date of application for SME operators is postponed from June 30, 2026, to December 30, 2026.
  • Regulatory enforcement measures are to be applied in all contexts only from June 30, 2026; with regard to SME operators, only from December 30, 2026. If a competent authority becomes aware of non-compliance with the regulation before these dates, it may issue warnings and recommendations to operators, downstream operators and traders.

However, it should also be noted that the date of application for EUDR-related customs controls under Art. 26 EUDR will not be postponed, meaning that, for imports of relevant raw materials and products from December 30, 2025 (except for imports by SME market participants, for whom the obligation will only apply from December 30, 2026), at least avalid reference number of a due diligence declaration must be provided to enable automated verification in the customs procedure. Without the reference number, imports will no longer be possible.

IV. Outlook

The proposal must now go through the ordinary legislative procedure. It remains to be seen how the European Parliament and the Council will respond to the proposed changes, although initial reactions from Parliament suggest that they will approve the proposed changes. In any case, Parliament plans to discuss and decide on the changes in a fast-track procedure without committee involvement.

Economic operators should in any case follow developments closely and prepare for the new requirements as soon as the amending regulation enters into force. Until its final publication in the Official Journal of the EU, affected economic operators, in particular downstream operators and traders, cannot rest assured and should continue their preparatory efforts without delay or reservation.

Proposal available under: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as regards certain obligations of operators and traders

Do you have any questions or would you like to discuss the news with the author? Please contact Michael Öttinger and Paul Jäde

22. October 2025 Michael Öttinger
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OMNIBUS IV package and EU Deforestation Regulation

The EU Commission is currently attempting to streamline and simplify numerous legal acts in an unprecedented campaign.

After the EU Commission presented OMNIBUS I and II packages in February 2025 (see our blog post OMNIBUS initiative and possible adjustments to the LkSG), it followed up with packages III and IV in May 2025. The new packages are all about ‘simplification.’ While Package III focuses on the Common Agricultural Policy and is not covered in this article due to its lack of relevance to product law, Package IV proposes a new category of companies and related simplifications. In addition, the EU Commission wants to digitise the fulfilment of product-related obligations. Although not part of the OMNIBUS initiative but not less prominent, the EU Commission published a revised version of the guidelines and FAQs on the Deforestation Regulation in mid-April. This was followed on 20.05.2025 by the long-awaited ‘country benchmarking’, which assigns a deforestation risk to the countries of origin of the raw materials covered by the EUDR.

This article provides an overview of the intended changes in the OMNIBUS IV package (see A.), explains the implications of the updates to the EUDR (see B.) and concludes with an interim assessment of the EU Commission’s approach following the first four OMNIBUS packages (see C.).

A. OMNIBUS IV package

The OMNIBUS IV package comprises a total of five draft amendments:

In addition to draft amendments to a large number of regulations and directives, the EU Commission has submitted a proposal for the definition of ‘small mid-cap enterprises’ (SMC) in Recommendation C(2025)3500.

According to the recommendation, SMCs are defined as enterprises that

  • are not small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC,
  • employ fewer than 750 persons, and
  • have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 150 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 129 million.

By introducing SMCs, the EU Commission intends to exempt a larger number of economic operators from regulatory obligations. Against this background, SMCs are to be subject to similar or even the same simplifications as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for a number of legal acts in future.

The proposed amendments to product-related regulations and directives are outlined below for individual legal acts or groups of legal acts.

I. EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542)

Amendments to the Battery Regulation are provided for in the draft amendments COM(2025) 501 final, COM(2025) 504 final and COM (2025) 258 final. These are as follows:

  • Postponement of the scope of application: The EU Commission proposes an amendment to Art. 48(1) Battery Regulation. According to this, the due diligence obligations laid down in Art. 48(2), (3) and Art. 49, 50, 52 Battery Regulation shall only apply on 18 August 2027, two years later than previously planned.
  • Simplification for SMCs: The exemption of SMEs from the due diligence obligations under Art. 47 of the Battery Regulation is to be extended to SMCs.
  • Reduced disclosure requirements: Economic operators who are required to fulfil due diligence obligations under Art. 47 et seq. Battery Regulation will in future only have to review their strategy and publish it on the internet every three years instead of annually (amendment to Art. 52(3) Battery Regulation).
  • Mandatory online communication: In future, certain information must be provided in digital format and contact with the authorities must take place digitally. As these changes apply to a large number of regulations and directives, they are presented in detail below under B.III.

II. Regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (Regulation (EU) 2024/573)

Amendments to the Regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (“F-Gas Regulation”) are provided for in the draft amendment COM(2025)501 final. For the import or export of products and equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases, registration in the F-Gas Portal is currently required under Article 20 of the F-Gas Regulation. This applies regardless of whether the products and equipment are subsequently subject to further obligations or restrictions under the F-Gas Regulation, which means a high administrative burden to comply with the extensive registration requirements. For this reason, the EU Commission wants to limit registration as a prerequisite for import and export to the following cases:

  • Import and export of fluorinated greenhouse gases
  • Placing on the market of products and equipment that must be reported in accordance with Art. 26 F-Gas Regulation
  • Export of products and equipment in accordance with Art. 22(3) F-Gas Regulation whose function depends on fluorinated greenhouse gases with a global warming potential of ≥1000, from the date of prohibition in accordance with Annex IV F-Gas Regulation.

According to the EU Commission, the changes mean that many SMEs and SMCs will no longer be subject to the registration requirement under Art. 20 F-Gas Regulation.

III. Amendments to various product-related legal acts

With the proposed amendment COM(2025) 503 final, which refers to various directives, and the proposed amendment COM(2025) 504 final, which in turn refers to various regulations, the EU Commission is proposing a series of digitisation measures. This covers in particular the provision of certain product-related information and the exchange of this information with the competent authorities. The following legal acts are affected:

  • RoHS Directive (Directive (2011/65/EU)
  • Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (Directive 2014/30/EU)
  • Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU)
  • Radio Equipment Directive (Directive 2014/53/EU)
  • Pressure Equipment Directive (Directive 2014/68/EU)
  • Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542)
  • Ecodesign Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781)

The following adjustments are proposed:

  • If an EU declaration of conformity or similar document must be included with a product, it must be produced in electronic format and made available via an internet address or a machine-readable code.
  • Every manufacturer must provide a ‘digital contact’ on products placed on the market. A corresponding obligation to provide an electronic address has been in force since 13.12.2024 for non-harmonised consumer products (without ‘CE’). This extended labelling requirement is enshrined in Art. 9(6) Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (the EU Product Safety Regulation or GPSR), i.e. in the manufacturer’s obligations. Electronic addresses have also been implemented for other labelling requirements in the GPSR. In addition, mandatory digital communication between economic operators on the one hand and national authorities on the other is to be introduced in the future. As soon as the ‘European Business Wallet’ is available, the digital address provided there will constitute the ‘digital contact’.
  • Operating instructions for products may, with the exception of safety instructions, also be made available exclusively in digital form in future.
  • Reporting obligations to national authorities, which could previously also be fulfilled in analogue form, may only be fulfilled digitally in future.
  • In future, general specifications are to be used more frequently instead of harmonised standards.
  • An obligation is to be introduced to store information from the EU declaration of conformity on the digital product passport (DPP) if a DPP is required under another regulation.

As shown, the changes proposed by the OMNIBUS IV package are comprehensive. It will be interesting to see to what extent the proposals on digitalisation will be accepted and can pave the way for a transition to the ‘European Business Wallet’. Affected companies should also pay particular attention, as some legal acts, such as the Battery Regulation, are dealt with in several draft amendments and are therefore subject to different legislative procedures.

B. Update on the EU Deforestation Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115)

According to Art. 29 Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EUDR), the EU Commission is to carry out a risk assessment of countries or parts of countries. The assessment relates to the risk that a relevant product listed in Annex I EUDR from the territory concerned violates the prohibition of deforestation under Art. 3(a) EUDR. A distinction is made between three categories:

a. high risk

b. standard risk

c. low risk

The classification of a country or parts thereof has two effects. On the one hand, according to Art. 13 EUDR, in the case of a low risk, reduced due diligence obligations apply to market participants (Art. 2(15) EUDR) and traders (Art. 2(17) EUDR). Subject to an assessment of the risk of circumvention of the Regulation, the obligations under Art. 10 EUDR (risk assessment) and Art. 11 EUDR (risk mitigation) do not have to be fulfilled. However, this means, conversely, that the obligations to obtain information under Art. 9 EUDR and, in particular, to draw up and submit a due diligence declaration remain in place even in the case of a low risk without exception. On the other hand, the frequency of checks by the competent authorities depends on the classification. While in the case of high risk, 9% of market participants who place relevant products on the market or make them available on the market must be checked each year, in the case of standard and low risk, the figures are 3% and 1% of market participants, respectively, cf. Art. 16(8)-(10) EUDR.

The long-awaited categorisation by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093 now qualifies four countries as high risk (Belarus, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia) and 140 countries (including all 27 EU Member States) as low risk. This classification has been met with some criticism, as the threshold for assuming a high risk has been set very high. This contradicts many reports on deforestation in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which continue to be classified as ‘standard risk’ because all unlisted countries are automatically assigned to the ‘standard risk’ category. However, according to Art. 29(2) of the EUDR, the list is to be reviewed on an ongoing basis and adjusted as necessary.

In addition to country benchmarking, the EU Commission has again updated the guidelines on the EUDR and the FAQs. The following updates are particularly noteworthy:

  • Wood or paper packaging that constitutes a relevant product under Annex I EUDR is not covered by the EUDR if it is only used to support or protect another product. In this case, they function primarily as packaging. However, they are subject to the EUDR in exceptional cases if their supporting and protective function gives the other product its essential character and they can therefore no longer be classified as mere packaging, see No. 2.5 FAQ.
  • Pursuant to Art. 4(9) EUDR, market participants may, when submitting their due diligence declarations, refer to the reference numbers of due diligence declarations that other market participants have already submitted to the information system in relation to the relevant product. This requires a review of the declarations previously submitted. The obligation to “ascertain” that due diligence was exercised in line with the EUDR has now been specified to mean that it refers to the verification of the validity of the respective reference numbers, see No. 3.4 FAQ. Deeper investigations may nevertheless be useful in individual cases, as responsibility for compliance with the requirements under Art. 3 EUDR continues to exist, see Art. 4(10) EUDR.
  • Members of a group of companies may authorise one of their members to submit the due diligence declarations for all members of the group. Although each member of a group of companies remains subject to the Regulation, the submission of the due diligence declaration can now be bundled, see No. 3.13 FAQ.
  • A single due diligence declaration may cover a large number of batches and relevant products in advance in accordance with Art. 4(2) EUDR. It should not exceed batches for a period of one year and should only include products that already exist at the time of submission. However, depending on the supply chain and product, it may be advisable to submit several due diligence declarations to ensure that all products placed on the market are actually covered by a declaration, see No. 5.19 FAQ.

In addition to the EU Commission, the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food published FAQs on 14.05.2025, which clarify a number of issues and should be consulted in particular by German companies.

Interim conclusion on current EU legislative procedures

The current pace at which the EU Commission is initiating new legislative procedures may be driven by a desire to demonstrate its ability to act in crises. However, if this comes at the expense of quality and creates legal uncertainty for the companies affected, this demonstration will unfortunately not be successful. The dilemma is particularly evident in short-term postponements of the date of application of legal acts, such as the EUDR at the end of 2024 and now the due diligence obligations under the Battery Regulation. Even if the intention behind this is to protect companies from excessive burdens, such actions tend to give the impression of an overwhelmed EU that is unable to provide clear regulations and appropriate guidelines from the outset. This damages the image of a European legal community in which legal certainty and clarity are supposed to prevail. Against this backdrop, we can only appeal to legislators to provide companies with more support in implementing the adopted legislation rather than hastily proposing supposed simplifications.

Do you have any questions or would you like to discuss the news with the author? Please contact Michael Öttinger and Paul Jäde.

24. June 2025 Michael Öttinger
Bild Michael Öttinger
Michael Öttinger
Lawyer / Counsel

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