New EU members get packaging directive extension:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The European Commission has issued Directive 2005/20/EC giving the new EU member states an extension to the deadline by which they must comply with Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. Member states that joined the EU last May have until September 9 2006 to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive. They are then entitled to postpone the attainment of the targets, as set out in paragraphs 1b, d and e of the main Directive until a date of their own choosing, but which must be not later than: December 31 2012 for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia; December 31 2013 for Malta; December 31 2014 for Poland; and December 31 2015 for Latvia. The new Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on March 16 2005.