Circular Economy Act: Emerging EU Direction

The European Commission recently held a final stakeholder workshop to present emerging findings from its impact assessment studies ahead of the Circular Economy Act, expected to be proposed later this year. Discussions focused on reducing EU dependency on critical raw material imports, simplifying the regulatory framework for secondary raw materials, and strengthening access to circular feedstocks across the Single Market.

The Commission’s emerging approach includes an expansion of WEEE scope, mandatory material recovery targets, EU-wide end-of-waste recognition, digital EPR registration systems and recycled content thresholds to strengthen secondary materials markets. Notably, the Commission is relying on an internal market legal basis for EPR, end-of-waste and WEEE provisions, signalling a push for EU-wide harmonisation over national discretion.

Political and industry positions are also taking shape: Socialists and Democrats are calling for mandatory eco-modulation, EPR transparency and repair incentives. BusinessEurope is pushing for harmonised EPR systems, stronger support for secondary raw materials and stricter market surveillance for online trade.