{"id":17890,"date":"2026-08-13T11:29:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/?p=17890"},"modified":"2026-08-13T11:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T10:29:22","slug":"the-eu-strikes-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/the-eu-strikes-again\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU Strikes Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fcbkbttn_like \"><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/the-eu-strikes-again\/\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\" layout=\"standard\"  width=\"450px\" size=\"small\"><\/fb:like><\/div><\/div><p>In the past couple of months we&#8217;ve had to deal with the new EU small parcel tariff, and then there was the new requirement for a &#8216;withdrawal&#8217; button on the website. What next, you may ask ? Well, you may be aware of this from other small manufacturers, but the EU has just launched another new set of regulations for e-commerce retailers, this time regarding packaging and recycling. We&#8217;re currently trying to get our collective heads around the implications (we&#8217;re struggling to find a summary in layman&#8217;s terms that we can make head or tail of), we&#8217;ve seen several interpretations of the new rules that say different things, but the consensus is that, right now, thing are Very Difficult for small businesses (including ones inside the EU, not just outside). It appears that we&#8217;re going to have to register and have a representative in every country, not just the one that we have at the moment that covers all of the EU. And on top of this, we have to register and pay a fee for recycling schemes, again in every country. Economically, this is impossible for us &#8211; the costs would far outstrip our annual sales to the EU.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/EU-Flag-Crossed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"17891\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/the-eu-strikes-again\/eu-flag-crossed\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/EU-Flag-Crossed.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"373,223\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"EU Flag Crossed\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/EU-Flag-Crossed.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/EU-Flag-Crossed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"373\" height=\"223\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-17891\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So for now we&#8217;re suspending sales to the EU. We&#8217;ll honour outstanding orders (most of them left at the start of the week, there&#8217;s one remaining to be posted) but won&#8217;t be taking any more for now. In a spirit of eternal optimism, we&#8217;re hoping that a solution will present itself at some point, as it has for all of the other hurdles we&#8217;ve had to cross as a small business in the past 4-5 years. We very much value our European customers, and we want you back !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the past couple of months we&#8217;ve had to deal with the new EU small parcel tariff, and then there was the new requirement for a &#8216;withdrawal&#8217; button on the website. What next, you may ask ? Well, you may &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2026\/08\/the-eu-strikes-again\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"EU sales suspended - hopefully temporarily, but who knows...","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shipping-stories","category-updates-and-general-waffle"],"views":148,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26BWy-4Ey","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16680,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/07\/back-in-europe\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":0},"title":"Back in Europe","author":"Tony","date":"July 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We're very pleased to announce that we've finally sorted out all the paperwork with our new EU representative and we're able to ship to EU destinations again! We were planning to announce this last week, but we wanted to clear the holiday order backlog first. That's it, you're all good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shipping Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shipping Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shipping-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13972,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2023\/09\/instant-re-play\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":1},"title":"Instant RE-PLAY","author":"Tony","date":"September 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A three part post today - starting with the news that we're attending a new show in the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent. It's been organised at rather short notice, and is taking place on October 28th. If nothing else it should be an interesting venue, set as we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shows","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RE-PLAY-e1695722529546.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RE-PLAY-e1695722529546.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RE-PLAY-e1695722529546.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RE-PLAY-e1695722529546.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12702,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2022\/01\/eu-shipping\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":2},"title":"EU Shipping","author":"Tony","date":"January 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We promised at the end of last year to implement a new system to handle the problems that EU customers are having with import VAT, and some quite eye-watering charges from courier companies to collect this tax. It's taken longer than expected, but we think we're ready to go at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shipping Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shipping Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shipping-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/EU-Shipping-Van-720.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15441,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2024\/11\/tied-up-in-red-tape\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":3},"title":"Tied up in Red Tape","author":"Tony","date":"November 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some not so good news, I'm afraid. In a few days time (December 13th to be precise) new EU regulations kick in called GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation). This has rather caught us by surprise; we only heard about it because other hobby manufacturers started asking about them. There doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shipping Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shipping Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shipping-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/EU-Flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/EU-Flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/EU-Flag.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/EU-Flag.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11815,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2020\/12\/service-and-eu-shipping-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":4},"title":"Service and EU Shipping Update","author":"Tony","date":"December 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"After a last minute blitz on orders, we've shipped out everything that arrived before 4pm yesterday. Obviously it's Christmas, and the postal service seems to be in a bit of a mess currently, so they might take a while to arrive, but they are at least on their way. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shipping Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shipping Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shipping-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/skynews-royal-mail_5215242-e1608809431583.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/skynews-royal-mail_5215242-e1608809431583.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/skynews-royal-mail_5215242-e1608809431583.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/skynews-royal-mail_5215242-e1608809431583.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10472,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2019\/09\/selwg-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":17890,"position":5},"title":"SELWG 2019","author":"Tony","date":"September 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm rather grumpy this morning - in another (less rainy) world I would be sitting enjoying the September sunshine at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, having a few drinks with my mates from my former cricket club, watching the last game of the county season. Instead, it's pitch dark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Shows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Shows","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EB8EFtqXoAAky75-820x547-e1569310450199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EB8EFtqXoAAky75-820x547-e1569310450199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EB8EFtqXoAAky75-820x547-e1569310450199.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EB8EFtqXoAAky75-820x547-e1569310450199.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/EU-Flag-Crossed.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17892,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17890\/revisions\/17892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}