Death by a thousand regulations
We regret to announce that we are no longer able to ship books to countries within the EU. We are still able to ship to our customers in the UK, US, Canada and the rest of the world.
Having spent almost twenty years building relationships with our readers and friends in Europe, the bureaucrats have strangled our business, and many thousands like us: The new packaging rules have made continued direct sales to the EU unviable. This means the loss of a significant part of our sales. We are sorry to have to step back from serving our European readers directly.
Under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2025/40), which came into effect from 12 August, a UK business shipping physical books must register in the national packaging EPR scheme of each EU member state it sells into; appoint an authorised representative established in each of those countries; and meet the associated reporting and fee obligations.
We have always taken great care with our packaging, using the most environmentally-friendly materials available. However, this is not an environmental law, it is credentialism, specifically designed to deny access to the market to everyone who is not a corporation.
The EU is a pyramid structure. We see apparent decentralisation with responsibility pushed downward, whilst control is kept at the apex. Control is exercised by defining what may ‘clear’ and by making non-clearing costly or impossible. There is no error in this, no mistake. It is by design – the ethical (green) imperative legitimates control.
The EU is a tyrannical bureaucracy which is creating a bland corporate monoculture. You will own nothing whilst an invisible class above the bureaucrats in Brussels control everything.
These rules will eventually apply to every aspect of your business and private life.
We hope those of you in the EU will continue to follow the work and stay in touch, even though you can no longer order physical books from us. We remain in hope of a better future.
Peter Grey & Alkistis Dimech
