New EU Packaging Regulation Pushes Small E-commerce Players Out of Small Markets

What Changed

The new EU Packaging Regulation enters into force on August 12, 2026. It brings significant changes for cross-border e-commerce within the Union.

Key problems for small businesses:

• Costs of registration and reporting in each country of presence
• Mandatory appointment of an authorized representative
• Packaging fees added on top of base expenses
• Differences in requirements between EU member states

According to market participants, sending a single parcel may now involve several registers, contracts, and service fees.

Pressure on Small Business

The situation creates an asymmetry: for large players that already have legal infrastructure in the main EU countries, the additional requirements become just another line in the compliance budget. For small and medium-sized companies operating in low-sales-volume markets, the same requirements mean the market becomes loss-making.

The math is simple: if an authorized representative and reporting in Portugal cost around 1,100 euros in the first year, and the company sells less than that amount of goods there, the market is shut down. Multiply this by the 27 EU countries, and the single market stops being single for small sellers.

Participants in the discussion also raised the question of whether the growing administrative burden could lead to higher prices for goods and make sales within the EU less attractive for small companies.

Market Opinions

The discussion took place as part of the program "The Development and Future of E-commerce," with the participation of Tõnu Väät, head of the Estonian E-commerce Association; Karin Miller, head of Bon Vegan; and Martin Rootsi, representative of Sanmare Trade. The program was moderated by Maarit Kallas, head of Kaubandus.ee.

Participants also discussed differences in packaging requirements between European countries and the question of how to limit empty space in packaging without damaging the goods during transport.