Ecodesign Regulation Remains on Track

September 9, 2026

Agreement to extend the ESPR transitional period should allow work on new Ecodesign rules for imaging equipment and consumables to continue under the existing framework.

Progress towards new European Ecodesign rules for imaging equipment and consumables has received an important boost following agreement in principle to extend the transitional arrangements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

The forthcoming imaging equipment regulation has been developed under the EU’s previous Ecodesign Directive. When ESPR replaced that Directive in 2024, transitional provisions allowed work already underway for several product groups, including imaging equipment, to continue — provided implementing measures could be adopted by 31 December 2026.

Delays within the European Commission meant that deadline was increasingly unlikely to be met. Without an extension, there was concern that the imaging equipment initiative could have been transferred into the newer ESPR framework, potentially resulting in several additional years of delay.

European industry organisations therefore called for the transitional period to be extended by two years, until 31 December 2028.

That proposal was subsequently included within the European Commission’s Omnibus IV legislative package. In late July, the Council and European Parliament reached agreement in principle on the extension, with formal approval expected to follow.

For ETIRA, this is a welcome development.

It should allow the proposed Ecodesign regulation covering imaging equipment and consumables to continue progressing under the existing legislative framework rather than being delayed by a move into the ESPR process.

ETIRA has been closely involved in discussions surrounding the future Ecodesign requirements for the imaging sector and will continue working to ensure that remanufacturing, cartridge reuse, access to components and the principles of the circular economy are properly reflected in the final regulation.