The members of EUROPEN, the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment, are doing their utmost to maintain the necessary supply of food, hygiene and medical products throughout Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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EUROPEN: Packaging essential during pandemic
To guarantee the continued uninterrupted flow of (packaged) goods, the European Commission needs to recognise packaging and its raw materials as essential and to open the designated priority lanes for their intra-EU transport.
EUROPEN supports the prompt and decisive measures taken by national governments and the European Commission to contain the spread of COVID-19, and has been taking all necessary measures for the health and safety of their employees and consumers.
A press statement released tody said: ‘We call on the Commission and EU governments to ensure that the production facilities essential to packaging supply-chains can continue operating as needed, while making sure that the necessary specific COVID-19 health, safety and security measures for the workforce are in place.’
To support self-isolation measures, a well-functioning packaging supply chain is critical to ensure uninterrupted delivery from factories to consumers. This is only possible if goods can circulate freely.
‘We welcome the recent Commission guidance on border management to establish a co-ordinated EU response and urge member states to observe it,’ the press statement added. ‘However, delays and disruption at country borders have been observed for the delivery of (packaged) products and packaging materials. As a matter of priority, we call on the Commission to lead on securing the enabling conditions necessary for continuity of essential product and service supply chains by creating ‘green lanes’ for free-movement of essential goods, vehicles and their drivers, as well as essential engineers.’
EUROPEN and its members are fully engaged to help in these difficult times and remain at the disposal of the European Commission and EU governments to support their efforts in every way we can.
