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Further to this news item announcing the marking requirements for wet wipes in the EU, CTPA would like to alert companies that the same provisions are applicable in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Protocol within the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement states that the EU Directives and Regulations found in Annex II of the NI Protocol continue to apply in NI after 1 January 2021.
The Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee (who oversees UK and EU implementation, application and interpretation of the Withdrawal Agreement) published a decision on 17 December 2020 including Article 2-7, Article 14, Article 17, and Parts A, B, C, D and F of the Annex to the EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) 2019/904, which is listed in Annex II of the NI Protocol.
Additionally, Article 13(3) of the NI Protocol states that “where this Protocol makes reference to a Union act, that reference shall be read as referring to that Union act as amended or replaced”. It is therefore our understanding that Implementing Regulation 2020/2151 providing for the marking requirements of wet wipes will automatically apply in NI, even if not explicitly listed in Annex II of the NI Protocol.
CTPA will keep companies updated should the interpretation change.