[Tech Debt] [python] Remove setuptools<82 constraint after apache-flink upgrades to apache-beam>=2.66.0

[alnzng]

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Description

Problem

setuptools 82.0.0 (released Feb 8, 2026) removed pkg_resources module entirely. apache-beam<2.66.0 still uses pkg_resources in its setup.py (source), so building apache-beam from source fails with:

  ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pkg_resources'

Currently all apache-flink depends on apache-beam <= 2.61.0, which is affected.

Current Workaround

We added setuptools<82 constraints in pyproject.toml to pin setuptools to a version
that still includes pkg_resources:

• [build-system] requires: setuptools>=75.3,<82
• [project] dependencies: setuptools>=75.3,<82
• [tool.uv.extra-build-dependencies]: apache-beam = ["setuptools<82"]

PR: #526

Long Term Solution

apache-beam>=2.66.0 removed pkg_resources usage from setup.py(PR #35153).
Once apache-flink upgrades its apache-beam dependency to >=2.66.0, we can remove all setuptools<82 constraints.

Are you willing to submit a PR?

• I'm willing to submit a PR!