๐๏ธ 26 March
๐ 13:40-14:50 CET
๐ The Merode, Place Poelaert 6 - Brussels
๐ View the event programme and register today
๐ www.esae.eu/summit-2026
#EAS26
Our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, will be sharing relevant insights at what promises to be an unmissable discussion with:
๐น Ewa Abramiuk-Lรฉtรฉ, General Manager, Liquid Gas Europe
๐น Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive, European Policy Centre
๐น Feriel Saouli, CEO, SEC Newgate
๐ The EU political landscape may have become more polarised and unpredictable, but associations can still be impactful and advocate effectively. Wondering how?
๐ฃ Join the upcoming European Association Summit, organised by the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE)!
โก๏ธ The EUโs regulatory simplification efforts can make this possible. Removing unjustified regulatory barriers that stifle innovation and are not science-based is just one of the necessary steps.
๐ Discover how our sector is fostering competitiveness across Europe ๐ unesda.eu/our-industry...
โก๏ธ To remain competitive, Bornholms Mosteri A/S and the rest of our sector need a regulatory environment that is clear, coherent, and stable, while also driving innovation and fostering growth.
โFor us, it isnโt just about making beverages, but also about supporting people and ensuring they have a good future.โ
๐ฝ Watch the video to find out more about the companyโs socio-economic contribution
๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Nd...
What does Bornholms Mosteri A/S mean to Denmark and to Europe?
A lot! It means local jobs and local production, given that Bornholms Mosteri A/S is a beverage company producing soft drinks in Denmark with local workers.
As Josephine Senger Svendsen, CEO of Bornholms Mosteri, puts it:
๐ Explore our map to see how countries with well-designed and efficient DRS in place often achieve collection rates exceeding 90% ๐ unesda.eu/our-prioriti...
DRS are essential for building a closed-loop recycling system, enabling collected materials to be recycled into new beverage containers.
This will be a major leap forward for the country in advancing a circular economy for beverage packaging and meeting the EUโs mandatory collection and recycled content targets.
โ
Itโs coming to Portugal next month!
โป๏ธ On 10 April, Portugal is set to introduce a Deposit Return System (DRS)m operated by SDR Portugal, for single-use plastic beverage bottles and cans to boost the collection of these beverage containers for high-quality recycling.
Driving further progress is possible through close cooperation and policies that give the industry the clarity, certainty and support it needs to make investments, foster innovation and create greater value for Europe.
We are very much looking forward to the next EU Food Dialogue on competitiveness and the one dedicated on reformulation and dietary intake data collection.
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ '๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐' ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, sourcing and producing locally, while creating jobs and driving innovation.
We support over 1.8 million jobs across our European value chain, produce more than 97% of our soft drinks here in Europe at over 500 production sites, and source more than 85% of our ingredients from European farmers.
As highlighted, this industry generates around โฌ299 billion in added value, even more than agriculture itself, making it a cornerstone of Europeโs economy.
๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ.
This is a clear barrier to innovation and to further sugar reduction, which is also not in line with public health objectives.
โ
The first EU Food Dialogue was a promising discussion. Both Commissioners recognised the strategic importance of the European food and drink industry.
โก๏ธ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ซ, ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก-๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ, including removing outdated rules without technical or scientific justification, such as the EU 30% energy reduction rule which restricts the use of low-/no-calorie sweeteners.
โก๏ธ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐, thoroughly assessed, promoting fairness across the food supply chain, and recognising the importance of balanced diets and lifestyles.
Thatโs exactly what we now need to see from the Commission: words turned into concrete actions. How? ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ. It will give the industry the ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฌ across Europe. For example, this means:
We couldnโt agree more. The Commissionโs commitment to strengthening stakeholder collaboration, as set out in its EU Vision for Agriculture & Food, is an approach our sector fully supports.
Commissioner Hansen also made it clear: '๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ต.'
โ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ,โ said Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, at the launch of the first EU Food Dialogue last week, co-chaired with Executive Vice President Stรฉphane Sรฉjournรฉ (Prosperity & Industrial Strategy).
On this International Womenโs Day, get inspired by our sectorโs brilliant women communicators, who remind us that communication is about creating positive impact and empowering others to use their voice, feel valued and recognised, and help create a better world for everyone.
Watch the video โคต๏ธ
๐ก UNESDA #FridayTip
What if the streets you walk hold the stories of women who shaped their cities and countries?
๐ Go on these six European walking tours that celebrate women ๐ www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
โป๏ธ Your feedback will help ensure that the guidelines are practical, scientifically robust, and aligned with operational realities across the value chain.
โ๏ธ Industry stakeholders are invited to provide their feedback via the consultation portal
๐ www.epbp.org/design-guide...
maintaining material quality and functionality across multiple recycling loops, consistent with EU policy expectations and industry requirements for closed-loop PET systems.
โป๏ธ The DfC guidelines were developed by the EPBP and represent the evolution beyond todayโs Design for Recyclability (DfR) guidelines, setting a more ambitious benchmark:
๐ฃ Final call for feedback!
Stakeholders in the PET bottle value chain, this is your last chance to submit your input to the industry-wide consultation on the Design for Circularity (DfC) guidelines for PET bottles, launched by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP).
Deadline: 15 March.
Helen also explained why blanket national bans on energy drink sales are discriminatory, disproportionate, and largely ineffective.
๐ Full interview here (in Slovak)
๐ www.trend.sk/dnes/zakazy-...
Helen underlined how these drinks are strictly regulated and labelled under EU law, and the need for policy measures to be grounded in robust science and assessed based on real-world impacts.
