This article is a brief rundown of the key legislative issues facing the vending industry at the moment. EVA members can of course login to our website in order to consult the latest EU Newsletter with further details and articles.

EU (finally) publishes Green Public Procurement Criteria for vending.

The EU GPP criteria are developed to facilitate the inclusion of green requirements in public tender documents. While the adopted EU GPP criteria aim to reach a good balance between environmental performance, cost considerations, market availability and ease of verification, procuring authorities may choose, according to their needs and ambition level, to include all or only certain requirements in their tender documents.

For vending machines, the criteria covers and specifies organic food products, environmentally responsible vegetable fats, and fair and ethical trade products are included within machines.

With regards to the technical level of the machines, refrigerated vending machines must contain low GWP refrigerants, smart controls must be included in all machine categories, and hot drinks machines must have the possibility of allowing consumers to choose their own cups.

While the criteria are voluntary, they are designed to be used as a template for institutions and companies looking for a sustainable catering and/or vending contract.

New European Banking Authority opinion on SCA implementation. 

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published on 16th October an opinion on the deadline for the migration to SCA under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) for e-commerce card-based payment transactions. The opinion sets the deadline to 31 December 2020 and prescribes the expected actions to be taken during the migration period.

The EBA opinion also recommends national competent authorities (NCAs) to take a consistent approach toward the SCA migration period across the EU and to require payment service providers to carry out the actions set out in the opinion.

In addition, the opinion recommends that, where required, NCAs communicate to PSPs that the supervisory flexibility they have exercised does not represent a delay in the application date of the SCA requirements in PSD2. Rather, it means that NCAs will focus on monitoring migration plans instead of pursuing immediate enforcement actions against PSPs that are not compliant with the SCA requirements.

Germany to adopt Nutriscore labelling scheme.

The Nutriscore system, which displays the nutritional value of food on an A-E scale (Green – Red) is to be established as a national voluntary food labelling scheme in Germany.

Nutriscore was developed in France, where it is mandatory, and has already been introduced in several other countries such as Belgium and Spain, as an easy to understand method to combat the obesity crisis.

Consultations launched on beverage cup levies in Ireland and Scotland.

Both the Republic of Ireland and Scotland are currently consulting on proposed legislation which would introduce measures to address use and recycling of coffee cups.

In Ireland, a coffee cup levy is proposed on all disposable cups by 2021, with the rate to be determined depending on the responses to the consultation. The survey asks for views on an ‘appropriate levy’, with €0.10, €0.15, €0.25 or even higher as the proposed options.

In Scotland, the consultation simply asks if Scottish Ministers should have the power to set a levy on disposable cups as part of new circular economy legislation. However, it is understood that an initial minimum price of between £0.20-0.25 per cup could be introduced by Ministers.

The EVA will be coordinating our response to both consultations with the AVA (UK Vending Association). Both consultations close in December.

NAMA launches new public health commitment.

NAMA (the US Vending Association) announced a new public health commitment which will increase the percentage of ‘better for you’ offerings to 33% in US vending machines.

The commitment will be implemented over the next 3 years, and increases overall the number of ‘better for you’ products by 40%. These products meet at least two public health standards.

The Catalan government approves again a law on taxing sugary drinks

The Generalitat of Catalonia has approved, once again, the law that was suspended on 11 July this year by the Catalan Court of Justice due to procedural issues. The new text includes, without any modification, the same content of the regulation initially approved in June 2017.

In order to tackle growing obesity rates, Catalonia has decided to tax sugary drinks depending on the amount of added sugar. An amount of €0.08 per liter for drinks with a sugar content of between 5-8 grams per 100 millilitres, and €0.12 for sugar content exceeding 8 grams per 100 millilitres has now been definitively introduced.