EU packaging law: Water bottle multipacks remain permitted from August 2026

Paris – 12 July 2026: Water bottles may continue to be sold in multipacks in France and the other EU member states after 12 August 2026. A contrary claim by Virginie Joron, an MEP for the Rassemblement National, is based on a confusion between the general application date of the new EU Packaging Regulation and individual market bans that take effect later.

In a social media post, Joron said that Brussels would force consumers to carry water bottles individually from 12 August 2026. The occasion is Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste. It entered into force on 11 February 2025 and is generally applicable from 12 August 2026. However, this does not result in an immediate ban on the sale of water bottle multipacks.

The decisive Article 25 instead sets 1 January 2030 as the date for the restrictions listed there. From then on, economic operators may no longer place certain single-use plastic packaging on the market. The difference in timing is significant: August 2026 marks the start of a comprehensive regulatory framework containing requirements for manufacturers, retailers and national authorities, not the date of a blanket ban in supermarkets.

Annex V of the regulation covers single-use plastic packaging that groups goods together at the point of sale and is intended to encourage consumers to buy multiple products. The legislator cites film and shrink wrap as examples. At the same time, the text exempts grouped packaging that is necessary for handling. Whether a specific type of packaging falls under the rule therefore depends on its function and design.

Even from 2030, the provision therefore does not concern the water bottles themselves and does not mean that customers would have to transport every bottle individually. The packaging potentially affected is primarily wrapping whose sole purpose is to promote the bundled sale of several individually saleable products. Packaging necessary for logistics and safe transport remains outside this ban under the wording of the annex.

In June 2026, the European Commission also published interpretative guidance on the regulation. It is intended to support member states and businesses in applying it uniformly. The Commission responded in this way to numerous questions about the scope of individual provisions. In particular regarding packaging bans, the regulatory framework refers to further guidelines, which are due to be available by 12 February 2027 at the latest.

The case shows how easily an accurate date, without its legal context, can produce a misleading political statement. The EU aims to reduce packaging waste, expand reuse and improve recyclability. Under the current legal situation, however, there is no ban on the sale of bottles in multipacks for water bottle multipacks, either on 12 August 2026 or in general.