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Union of European Beverages Association

UNESDA

UNESDA represents the European soft drinks industry's commercial, technical, and legal interests.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea (Director Environment) and

20 Jan 2026 · Single-use Plastics Directive

Meeting with Virgil-Daniel Popescu (Member of the European Parliament)

9 Dec 2025 · Conference Debate "The Romanian Deposit Return System and European policy perspective"

Response to Circular Economy Act

6 Nov 2025

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe welcomes the Commissions ambition to boost EU competitiveness while accelerating the shift to more sustainable production, circular models, and decarbonisation. We strongly support efforts to: Enable free movement of circular products, secondary raw materials, and waste across Member States. Boost supply of high-quality recycled materials and foster a robust EU market for secondary raw materials. Keep stimulating demand for recyclates within the EU to support competitiveness and resource security. Please find attached more details about our position on the future new Circular Economy Act.
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Meeting with Eric Mamer (Director-General Environment) and

5 Nov 2025 · Exchange of views on Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and plastic recycling

Meeting with Jessika Roswall (Commissioner) and

29 Oct 2025 · Roundtable- closing the Loop : Addressing the Plastic Recycling Crisis in Europe

Meeting with Antonella Rossetti (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen), Esther De Lange (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen)

14 Oct 2025 · Vision for Agriculture and Food Simplification Innovation

UNESDA urges removal of outdated beverage reformulation rules

10 Oct 2025
Topic — The European Commission is consulting on simplifying food and feed safety legislation.
Message — UNESDA requests the removal of the 30% energy reduction rule for sweeteners. They also advocate for harmonized food contact material standards and stronger single market enforcement.1234
Why — Simplifying sweetener rules would reduce costs and facilitate faster product reformulations.5
Impact — National governments lose the ability to implement specific health or environmental measures independently.6
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Meeting with Alexandra Nikolakopoulou (Head of Unit Health and Food Safety), Sabine Pelsser (Head of Unit Health and Food Safety) and

16 Sept 2025 · Specific conditions for the use of sweeteners in the food additive legislation, in particular, the requirement to replace sugars for the production of energy-reduced food

Soft drinks industry urges EU to support sweeteners in cardiovascular health plan

15 Sept 2025
Topic — EU Commission initiative to improve cardiovascular health through prevention, early detection and treatment.
Message — The organization requests EU policymakers continue supporting no and low-calorie sweeteners as enablers of sugar reduction. They want outdated regulatory provisions removed, particularly the rule limiting sweetener use to products with at least 30% energy reduction. They also seek evidence-based dietary recommendations that treat all safe ingredients equally.123
Why — This would enable continued reformulation while maintaining consumer appeal and competitiveness.45
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Meeting with David Boublil (Head of Unit Taxation and Customs Union)

11 Sept 2025 · Exchange of views on the study “Health taxes from an EU perspective”

Response to EU rules for the calculation and reporting of recycled content in single-use plastic bottles

14 Aug 2025

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe welcomes the European Commissions draft Implementing Act setting out harmonised rules to calculate, verify, and report the share of recycled plastic in single-use plastic (SUP) beverage bottles and supports its speedy adoption by Q4 2025. This act provides a critical foundation for the proper enforcement of the recycled content targets, already scheduled for application in 2025. Please find our detailed input to the consultation in the attached document.
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Meeting with Nicolo Brignoli (Cabinet of Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis)

24 Jun 2025 · Simplification

Meeting with Alisa Tiganj (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen) and The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo

15 Apr 2025 · Discussion on next steps on certain elements in the Vision for AGriculture and Food, most notably, the references to Food Dialogues, the EU Code of Conduct and a study on UPF.

Meeting with Flavio Facioni (Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi) and The Coca-Cola Company and

9 Apr 2025 · Obesity and Food safety

Meeting with Ariane Vander Stappen (Head of Unit Health and Food Safety)

19 Feb 2025 · Discussion on the ongoing harmonization of maximum permitted limits for vitamins and minerals in food.

Meeting with Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall), Paulina Dejmek Hack (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall) and Svenska Bryggareförening

6 Feb 2025 · Reuse targets for beverages in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)

Beverage association UNESDA calls for stronger Single Market enforcement

31 Jan 2025
Topic — The European Commission is developing a strategy to strengthen the EU Single Market.
Message — UNESDA calls for a major change in mindset regarding EU legislation. They demand a review of the notification system to prevent national trade barriers. They also seek to remove outdated rules governing low-calorie sweeteners.12
Why — Harmonized rules and streamlined reporting would significantly lower compliance costs and boost innovation.34
Impact — National governments would lose autonomy as stricter enforcement prevents them from implementing domestic regulations.5
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Meeting with Alisa Tiganj (Cabinet of Commissioner Christophe Hansen)

21 Jan 2025 · Exchange of views on issue considered relevant by UNESDA for the Vision of agriculture and food, under preparation.

Meeting with Daniel Braun (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

23 Apr 2024 · elections

Soft drink industry urges closed-loop recycling for end-of-life vehicles

2 Oct 2023
Topic — This consultation addresses circularity requirements for vehicle design and end-of-life management.
Message — The industry suggests focusing on closed-loop recycled content and ensuring sectors have priority access to their own recycling feedstock. They want to discourage the automotive sector from using recycled material that could be reused in its original application.123
Why — This protects their supply of recycled food-grade plastic from being diverted by the car industry.4
Impact — Car manufacturers would lose a cheap source of recycled plastic needed for their own targets.5
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Meeting with Malte Gallée (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and RELOOP

29 Jun 2023 · How well-designed Deposit and Return Systems (DRS) can contribute to the circularity transition

Soft Drinks Europe urges EU to recognize chemical recycling

30 May 2023
Topic — New EU rules for calculating and reporting recycled plastic in single-use beverage bottles.
Message — The group requests the inclusion of chemical recycling and pre-consumer waste. They want calculation based only on the major component of the beverage bottle.1234
Why — This provides flexibility and ensures easier access to limited food-grade recycled plastic supplies.5
Impact — Environmental groups lose when factory scrap replaces post-consumer waste in official recycling targets.6
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Meeting with Virginie Joron (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion)

26 Apr 2023 · Union des associations européennes des boissons

Response to Review of the requirements for packaging and feasibility of measures to prevent packaging waste

24 Apr 2023

Dear all, Please find attached UNESDA's position on the proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. Kind regards, UNESDA Secretariat
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Meeting with Delara Burkhardt (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and The Coca-Cola Company and

16 Feb 2023 · Packaging waste

Meeting with Barbara Herbolzheimer (Cabinet of Commissioner Johannes Hahn) and Red Bull GmbH

22 Nov 2022 · Upcoming proposal on the Review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.

Meeting with Caroline Boeshertz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis) and European Aluminium AISBL and

22 Nov 2022 · Draft proposal of a Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR)

Meeting with Peter Van Kemseke (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen) and Natural Mineral Waters Europe aisbl

21 Nov 2022 · EU Packaging and Waste Packaging Legislation: upcoming revision.

UNESDA seeks reporting clarity for plastic waste tax

4 Oct 2022
Topic — The EU is standardizing reporting formats for its non-recycled plastic packaging waste own resource.
Message — The group urges the Commission to exclude private exports and reusable packaging from waste calculations. They also request clearer wording to prevent double counting of reusable packaging.12
Why — Clearer reporting rules would prevent companies from incurring higher costs through redundant tax payments.3
Impact — National governments may receive less revenue if more packaging categories are exempted from tax.4
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Response to Amendment of Regulation (EU) No 282/2008 on the recycling of plastic materials to be used as food contact materials

17 Jan 2022

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe welcomes the opportunity to provide comments on the draft regulation on recycled plastics for food contact. We support the overall objective of this draft regulation in enabling growth of recycling capacities within the EU by establishing an efficient authorization process and facilitating innovation of new recycling technologies. Resolving the various issues that have created bottlenecks in the current authorization system is critical to ensure that UNESDA members reach both the regulatory targets under the 2015 circular economy action plan and, more specifically, the Single-Use Plastics Directive, as well as the UNESDA voluntary target on 50% use of recycled content by 2025 . Our detailed comments are provided in the attached PDF file.
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Meeting with Florika Fink-Hooijer (Director-General Environment)

14 Jan 2022 · Waste and Packaging

UNESDA demands substance-focused regulation and revised labeling

3 Nov 2021
Topic — The European Commission proposes restricting green tea catechins in food to ensure safety.
Message — The legislation should focus only on the substance EGCG rather than ingredients or foodstuffs. UNESDA requests that threshold levels determine restrictions and calls for an extended transition period to avoid food waste.123
Why — A longer transition period allows the industry to avoid costs from food waste.4
Impact — Consumers lose access to specific medical guidance regarding potential health risks from consumption.5
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Soft drink industry urges voluntary focus for EU sustainability

26 Oct 2021
Topic — The European Commission is creating a framework to mainstream sustainability in food policies.
Message — UNESDA recommends combining mandatory laws with voluntary initiatives to achieve sustainability goals. They insist food safety must take precedence over sustainability in the new framework. The association calls for a gradual transition with harmonized, science-based criteria.123
Why — Centralized, voluntary standards would protect free trade and reduce business compliance costs.4
Impact — Sustainability advocates lose if environmental goals are secondary to commercial and fiscal viability.5
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Response to Policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics

26 Oct 2021

Dear all, Please find attached UNESDA - Soft Drinks Europe's feedback on the roadmap to a Policy Framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics. Thank you for taking our comments into consideration, Kind regards, UNESDA Secretariat
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Response to Environmental Implementation Review 2022

15 Oct 2021

Please find attached comments shared by UNESDA, NMWE and AJIN.
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Response to Calculation, verification and reporting of data on the separate collection of SUP beverage bottles

17 Jun 2021

UNESDA and its members welcome the opportunity to share comments on the draft implementing act on calculating, verifying and reporting data on separate collection of single-use plastic bottles. You will find our detailed comments attached.
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Meeting with Rozalina Petrova (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius) and Zero Waste Europe

8 Jun 2021 · Circular economy, waste management and deposit return schemes

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Zero Waste Europe and

8 Jun 2021 · Circular economy, waste management and deposit return schemes

Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton) and Zero Waste Europe and

8 Jun 2021 · Circular economy, waste management and deposit return schemes

Response to Education for environmental sustainability

3 May 2021

UNESDA supports fully the objectives of the EU Green Deal as well as the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. We believe that we have a shared responsibility to create a greener and more sustainable planet for our children. UNESDA believes that education on recycling is an integral element of the soft drinks industry’s efforts to drive full circularity. We believe setting up clear EU rules on environmental labelling will be crucial to help consumers understand how and when to recycle packaging. We also believe it would be essential for a dedicated budget under Horizon Europe or any other relevant EU funds to be allocated for environmental education. UNESDA fully supports additional actions from EU authorities to integrate environmental education schemes in pupils’ curricula, and in using Sustainable Development Goals as a compass for funding awareness and education campaigns towards EU children. Our full contribution can be found attached.
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Meeting with Rozalina Petrova (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

16 Feb 2021 · EU Circular Economy Action Plan, including plastics

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and The Coca-Cola Company and

16 Feb 2021 · EU Circular Economy Action Plan, including plastics

Meeting with Florika Fink-Hooijer (Director-General Environment)

9 Feb 2021 · New Circular Packaging Vision 2030

Soft drinks industry calls for harmonised EU nutrition labelling

3 Feb 2021
Topic — The consultation concerns revising food labelling rules to improve consumer information and health.
Message — The industry supports a single, harmonised EU-wide labelling scheme to promote consumer understanding and product reformulation. They urge that new labels align with existing health claims to avoid confusing consumers. Additionally, they propose using digital tools to provide accurate food information.123
Why — Harmonisation would reduce the financial burden of managing multiple labels for different national markets.4
Impact — Member states would lose the power to maintain or create their own national nutrition labelling systems.5
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Response to Revision of EU rules on food contact materials

29 Jan 2021

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe fully endorses the submission to this consultation from our umbrella federation, FoodDrinkEurope. Please see attached the UNESDA submission.
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Response to Empowering the consumer for the green transition

31 Aug 2020

The full UNESDA submission to the consultation on the inception impact assessment on empowering the consumer for the green transition can be found attached.
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UNESDA urges EU to protect food-grade recycling loops

3 Aug 2020
Topic — This consultation reviews EU packaging rules to improve design and reduce waste.
Message — The industry wants a legal framework prioritizing the recycling of beverage containers into new bottles. They request the Commission avoid absolute waste reduction targets and ensure internal market harmony.12
Why — Dedicated access to high-quality recycled material would help companies meet mandatory recycling targets.3
Impact — Sectors using recycled plastic for other purposes would face a significant supply shortage.4
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UNESDA seeks science-based and harmonized EU food sustainability rules

16 Mar 2020
Topic — The initiative aims to create fair, healthy, and environmentally-friendly European food systems.
Message — The association demands a unified EU labeling system and policies based strictly on scientific evidence. They advocate for a coordinated response to obesity that avoids targeting specific ingredients.12
Why — Harmonization would reduce compliance costs and protect the use of sweeteners in products.34
Impact — National authorities lose the power to implement their own distinct nutrition labeling schemes.5
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Meeting with Marius Vascega (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

4 Mar 2020 · Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan, plastic packaging, to present aspirations of Unesda.

Meeting with Gaelle Garnier (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton), Valère Moutarlier (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

4 Mar 2020 · Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive

Meeting with Giorgos Rossides (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Karolina Herbout-Borczak (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Panayiotis Pourgourides (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

4 Mar 2020 · Health and food safety, Farm2Fork Strategy & EU Beating Cancer Plan.

Meeting with Daniel Calleja Crespo (Director-General Environment)

4 Mar 2020 · Circular economy action plan

Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

20 Jan 2020

UNESDA – Soft Drinks Europe calling for Roadmap on New Circular Economy Action Plan to build on existing EU legislations to accelerate the transition towards a circular model while ensuring legal and regulatory stability From linear to circular – speeding up the transition UNESDA and its members have been driving sustainability throughout their value chain for 30 years. We fully supported the Circular Economy Package adopted by the EU in 2017 and its objectives to build a circular economy, and we continue to support this objective. We also welcome the publication of the communication on the European Green Deal and its ambition of making the EU the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. We agree with the identified challenges listed in the Roadmap: empowering consumers, boosting sustainable products policies, reducing waste generation, creating a well-functioning secondary raw materials market and speeding up the transition from a linear model to a circular one will all be key to create a circular economy. The transition has already started: we will use 25% recycled content in packaging in the next five years, and our members are committed to going significantly beyond if the supply of food-grade quality rPET is secured accordingly. UNESDA pledged to increase collection rates and to reuse packaging, e.g. refillable bottles, where it makes environmental and economic sense. Collection rates for PET are already above 80% in a number of EU countries (Sweden, Belgium) and even above 90% in others (Denmark, Norway, Germany) and efforts are accelerating in other countries to achieving similar collection rates. Implementing existing EU legislations and reinforcing the principles of circular economy We consider that it is crucial to first implement rules that were just adopted in particular the review of the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and the Single-Use Plastics Directive whilst ensuring there is space for further innovation and solutions to make business and consumers practices more sustainable. Going further will also require protecting the very principles of circular economy, meaning that a product that is easily recyclable, collected and recycled, must be considered as a full and legitimate part of that circular thinking. We support all EU legislations ensuring that only safe and sustainable products can be put on the market and we reaffirm the need to maintain the spirit of the Circular Economy package, implementing science-based measures and considering reuse, repair and recycling as different tools that each contribute, when optimised, to achieving circularity of the EU economy. For example, swift actions from the Commission must be taken on authorising plastic mechanical recycling processes positively evaluated by EFSA as well as on creating a supportive legal framework for alternative plastic recovery technologies like enhanced recycling and feedstock recycling. These alternative technologies are complementary to mechanical recycling processes and can boost the internal market for safe secondary raw materials. Circularity involves everyone and requires a holistic approach Achieving a circular economy requires a multi-stakeholder approach, requiring the full mobilisation of industry, governments, consumers, academia and civil society. We invite the Commission to reference existing platforms such as the Circular Plastics Alliance, working towards boosting the uptake of recycled plastics. All parties should be involved in a proportionate way: contributing to strengthening waste collection systems must be a collective effort, as well as funding clean-up costs for litter which should not fall solely on specific stakeholders. Our members are working hard to be frontrunners in making both our products and packaging more sustainable and we welcome all initiatives from the Commission to fast-track the transition towards a circular model in the years ahead.
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Meeting with Anne Bucher (Director-General Health and Food Safety)

30 Oct 2019 · UNESDA will present its Aspirations for the next five years, addressing the three core areas of Sustainability, Responsibility and Competitiveness

Response to Amendment of products and substances allowed in organic production

14 Aug 2019

UNESDA response to the public consultation on the Draft Commission Implementing Regulation amending Annexes of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 with regard to organic production, labelling and control UNESDA notes that, in the future, the following gums and stabilizers E 410, E 412, E 414, E 418 can be used in organic products only when derived from organic production and that this limitation was not included in the previous legislation. The requirement will apply as of 1st January 2022, which is only one year after the date of the implementation of the new Organic Regulation. These changes in the conditions of use will have an impact for the organic food production sector. Referring to the Annex II of the Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, the conversion time from conventional farming to organic farming will take 3 years as per the previous Regulation. UNESDA strongly recommends that the transition period be re-evaluated and adjusted to the conversion rules as laid down in the Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (Annex II, Part 1, para 1.7).
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Meeting with Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

12 Dec 2018 · Single Use Plastic

Meeting with Vytenis Andriukaitis (Commissioner) and

30 Nov 2018 · Sustainability, SDGs and UNESDA Commitments, Packaging Commitments and Plastic Strategy

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President)

14 Sept 2018 · Plastics in circular economy and the single use plastics directive

Meeting with Karmenu Vella (Commissioner) and

13 Sept 2018 · Plastic Recycling

Response to Revision of the Drinking Water Directive (RECAST 2017)

30 Mar 2018

UNESDA, the European association representing the soft drinks industry, welcomes the recast of the Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC. UNESDA members produce a wide range of soft drinks including carbonated drinks, cordials, sports drinks, ice teas, energy drinks. Water constitutes at least 90% of the ingredient in most soft drinks. UNESDA members are committed to applying the highest standards for this crucial ingredient. As a water user and provider of non-alcoholic beverages we are pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the process. Please find in attachment UNESDA's consolidated comments on the revision of the Drinking Water Directive.
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Response to Commission Implementing Regulation on the provision of voluntary indication of origin or place of provenance of foods

1 Feb 2018

UNESDA, representing the European soft drinks industry, thanks the European Commission for the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Commission Implementing Regulation on Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. UNESDA is a member of FoodDrinkEurope, the European federation representing the food and drink industry. UNESDA strongly supports the input provided by FoodDrinkEurope to the present consultation. Of major importance to UNESDA members is the proposed transitional period, and therefore we would like to highlight in our feedback our specific request and comments on this particular aspect. UNESDA requests a longer transitional period - until at least 1 April 2020 - to enable producers to adapt to the new requirements and to carry out the necessary changes (e.g. changes in supplying, storage practices/logistics, label artwork, etc.). A transition period of at least 2 years is warranted for the following reasons: a) As many companies have already started their product development and labelling concepts for 2019, the proposed transitional period is not feasible from an operational point of view; as a consequence, companies expect to incur additional disproportionate costs and burdens, including packaging waste; b) This new Implementing Regulation adds to other national provisions that have been adopted in 2017/2018 (e.g. additional origin labelling measures at national level). It is very complex and almost impossible for operators to change their labels every 6 months/1 year; c) There are still grey areas and fundamental issues of interpretation of the provisions of Article 26(3) and its implementing rules. A longer transitional period would give sufficient time to the Commission and Member States for developing EU-wide guidance/Q&As. Before food business operators will be able to apply the Regulation, all outstanding and fundamental interpretation questions must be answered at EU level (see point 5 of the FoodDrinkEurope submission); d) Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 sets out the requirement “to establish an appropriate transitional period for application of the new measures”; considering that the measure will not be adopted before the second quarter of 2018 and taking into account the above, the transitional period proposed in the draft text is clearly not “appropriate”. Furthermore, according to Article 3(3) of the same Regulation, this one-year transition period can only be granted in “duly justified cases”. This case can not be considered to be “duly justified”; e) Concerning Article 4(3), the possibility to use label stocks which were printed prior to the date of application of the Implementing Regulation should also be given, to avoid waste of the existing packaging material and unnecessary costs for FBOs.
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Meeting with Xavier Prats Monné (Director-General Health and Food Safety)

16 Sept 2016 · To discuss the role of the sector

Meeting with Nathalie Chaze (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis), Paula Duarte Gaspar (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis)

20 Jan 2016 · Food reformulation, sugar in food

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President) and

11 Jan 2016 · Soft drinks sector’s contribution to job and growth in the EU

Meeting with Lucie Mattera (Cabinet of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici), Maria Elena Scoppio (Cabinet of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici)

29 Sept 2015 · competitiveness and investments of the industry in Europe, the role of taxation

Meeting with Heidi Jern (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo

10 Jul 2015 · Circular Economy

Meeting with Léon Delvaux (Cabinet of President Jean-Claude Juncker)

7 Jul 2015 · Establish a working relationship

Meeting with Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

28 Apr 2015 · To introduce the organisation and its priorities

Meeting with Paula Duarte Gaspar (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis) and PepsiCo

18 Mar 2015 · Nutrition; UNESDA Contribution to the EU platform for action on diet, food reformulation