On Tuesday 8 November, European Commission Vice President Jyriki Kaitenen informed MEPs on the environment committee that implementation of the action plan for the circular economy was making good progress, particularly in the area of eco-design. Other initiatives will follow, such as the one on processing waste into energy, Katainen explained.
Environment committee members are very closely following implementation of the action plan for the circular economy adopted in December 2015, as a means of stimulating sustainable economic growth, job creation and European competitiveness (see EUROPE 11444). This is why they invited Kaitainen for the second time to assess the situation, which will be taking place on a six-monthly basis.
Addressing Kaitainen, the chair of the parliamentary committee, Giovanni La Via, explained that "on 16 March we discussed implementation of the action plan. We want to know what progress has been made since then, what initiatives will be presented in the next six months and when the Commission will publish its report on the circular economy".
On 8 November, the Commission also published a new list of products that have been suggested for the eco-design directive’s scope of application. The products included are in six selected areas relating to the potential savings they represent (such as automated systems, sensors, solar panels, and refrigerators). The commissioner immediately highlighted this to the MEPs and mentioned this directive’s revision as a major step forward because "eco-design is at the heart of the circular economy. Thanks to this directive, we will be able to modernise our economy. It contains incentive measures for both companies that work in Europe and imported products".
The draft revision of the directive expected at the end of year will benefit consumers and business and have a positive impact on the environment, explained the commissioner who also mentioned that around €500 a year is expected for consumers in savings and €55 billion in additional income sources generated for industry by using more efficient equipment.
Katainen told MEPs that "the next Commission report on implementation of the action plan will be presented in January 2017. We will also have a communication on transforming waste into energy. At the same time, we will be working on implementation of a platform that helps finance the circular economy, which is very important".
The vice-president also pointed out that "things are progressing well. Less than a year after the adoption of the raft of measures on the circular economy, the Commission has implemented the action plan at a more sustained pace". He referred to each of the texts in turn already on the table: - a legislative proposal on waste, a legislative proposal on the online sales of goods and voluntary guarantees, a draft revision of the regulation on fertilisers, an instruction guide for green public procurement, and guidelines on unfair trade practices.
"We have also planned a European Union platform to prevent food waste and will be launching calls for expressions of interest for a pilot project involving innovative agreements", the commissioner added. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)