The CSCP and 13 Other Organisations Call on the EU Commission to Adopt a More Comprehensive Circular Economy Policy

In the past years, the transition to a circular economy has taken centre stage in the European Union’s policy agenda. A well-functioning circular economy is a prerequisite to sustainable growth and holds one of the keys to achieving the EU’s climate neutrality target by 2050. Despite marked progress, the use of circular materials (an important circularity indicator), remains rather marginal EU-wide.

With the EU appointing a dedicated Commissioner for Circular Economy for the first time, the CSCP and 13 leading civil society organisations (CSOs) and sustainable businesses call for a more comprehensive and ambitious approach to reduce raw material dependence and launch binding targets to lower material and consumption footprint.

In an open letter, which was released at the time of the European Parliament hearings of Commissioner-designates, the informal coalition urges Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to press for a more systemic vision to circularity.

The letter lays out a series of instrumental measures to driving a just and inclusive circular transition that sharpens the EU’s competitive edge, including the following:

• Create a holistic vision to ensure competitiveness and boost circular material use
• Improve fiscal tools by shifting the tax burden from labour to raw material extraction to align economic incentives with circular economy goals
• Include circular economy criteria within trade policy and position the EU as a leader in global circular economy standards, committed to taking into account the socioeconomic impacts of international trade agreements.
• Improve the Extended Producer Responsibility framework to become a groundbreaking policy tool to support prevention, reuse, separate collection, and high quality recycling, ensuring a fair competition in the market
• Promote and drive the work toward a Circular Economy Single Market to part ways with EU’s over dependence on primary material extraction
• Place public procurement as a key accelerator of circular economy deployment
• Recognise the role of local and regional authorities to implement and accelerate circular initiatives effectively and empower and enable them in their efforts

In the letter, the signatories also highlight the need to top up investments to fund circular economy endeavours as well as aim toward a safe and healthy circular economy with human health at the centre.

You can download the full open letter here.

The EU circular economy policy is outlined in the Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in 2020. The mandate of the new designated Commissioner for circular economy will start after Parliament consent and a formal appointment by the European Council.

For further questions, please contact Dr. Flandra Syla-Beqiri.