Policy analysis reveals weakening global plastic treaty commitments against EU regulations, indicating marginal international influence without strict limits on primary polymer production.
This article examines the recent developments in the EU’s regulatory framework on microplastics and provides an analysis of the ongoing negotiations concerning an international treaty on plastic pollution. The article builds on the adoption of the Microplastics Regulation (2023/2055) and maps subsequent EU legislative steps in this area, in particular the new Pellets Regulation (2025/2365), the Packaging Regulation (2025/40), and the Waste Shipment Regulation (2024/1157). In the second part, the author evaluates the evolution of the draft texts of the future international treaty – from the ambitious and stringent Zero Draft to the compromise-oriented and recommendatory Chair’s Draft Text Proposal of 2025. The article analyses the causes of the diplomatic stalemate, especially the dispute over the inclusion of so‑called upstream measures that would limit the production of primary polymers. In conclusion, the author assesses the potential impact of the international agreement on EU law and notes that without firmly established production limits, the treaty’s influence on EU legislation will remain rather marginal.
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Ádám Novák (2026) studied this question.
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