Regulatory news and experts insights.

The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40, has applied since 12 August 2026. It aims to reduce packaging waste, improve recyclability and promote the circular economy. Its requirements are being introduced progressively, with further major deadlines in 2030 and beyond.

Packaging compliance does not rely on a single regulation or one specific document. Depending on the material, intended use, packaged product and target market, different requirements may apply: consumer safety, food contact, chemical substances, environmental obligations or Extended Producer Responsibility.

The Advocate General proposes the annulment of the provisions requiring pharmaceutical and cosmetics producers to finance at least 80% of the costs associated with quaternary wastewater treatment. Importantly, the Opinion does not challenge the environmental objectives of the Directive, the need to reduce micropollutants in wastewater, nor the legitimacy of introducing quaternary treatment. Instead, it focuses on the scientific and evidentiary basis underpinning the allocatio

Environmental considerations have become an established part of the regulatory development of human medicinal products in the European Union. Active pharmaceutical substances can enter the environment through the use and disposal of medicines, and their potential impact therefore needs to be assessed as part of the marketing authorisation process.

This report constitutes a document of major strategic importance for the European nutraceutical sector. By identifying, at an early stage, emerging risks associated with the consumption of food supplements (excluding vitamins and minerals), this text acts as an important signal of EFSA’s future priorities.