Maltese MEP Peter Agius is calling on the European Commission to temporarily suspend new packaging obligations for small businesses, warning that the rules could push Maltese artisans and small exporters out of the European market altogether.In a letter to EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, Agius raised concerns over the EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), arguing that its requirements are placing a disproportionate burden on businesses selling small quantities across borders.Under the rules highlighted by Agius, a Maltese trader selling even a handful of parcels to customers in another EU country may need to register there, join its packaging compliance scheme and, in certain circumstances, appoint an authorised representative.And for a small Maltese business selling across several European countries, those costs can quickly add up.Agius said he had been contacted by scores of Maltese small businesses, including artists and artisans, after they began receiving information about the new requirements.Some told him that packaging compliance could cost more than €200 per Member State every year, potentially leaving businesses paying more in administrative costs than they make from sales in that particular market.“Several traders I talked to tell me they are considering just shutting down websites,” Agius wrote. “Is that not the tragedy of the ‘single market’?”The MEP also warned of the opposite problem: European suppliers potentially deciding that Malta’s relatively small market simply isn’t worth the cost and bureaucracy required to continue shipping here.“Unless we act on this, we risk isolating further Maltese businesses from the single market,” he warned.While stressing that Maltese and European consumers are ready to make changes to protect the environment, Agius argued that policymakers must consider how quickly those changes are introduced and what they mean for people’s livelihoods.He is now calling on the Commission to temporarily suspend the PPWR’s Extended Producer Responsibility obligations for micro-enterprises and small businesses until a clearer and more proportionate legal framework is introduced.For Malta’s smallest exporters, Agius argues, the issue isn’t opposition to greener packaging, it’s whether they can afford to keep selling to Europe at all.What do you make of this?•