On Tuesday 16 January at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels, the EU Environment Ministers discussed ways of speeding up the EU’s transition to a circular economy that is more efficient in its use of non-renewable resources, more resilient and more competitive, as set out in the ‘European Green Deal’, conceived as a growth strategy.
The progress still to be made in realising the full potential of the circular economy to contribute to climate neutrality, biodiversity restoration and zero pollution was the final topic of the two-day informal ministerial meeting (see EUROPE 13327/1), organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU under the banner of the green and fair transition.
According to the Belgian Minister for Climate Transition and the Environment for the Brussels-Capital Region, Alain Maron, who chaired the session, the discussions were fruitful, and the priority now, pending the next report by the UN International Resource Panel, is to integrate the macroeconomic dimension of the circular economy.
The EU’s consumption of materials stands at almost 6.6 billion tonnes, which is well above the world average and that of low- and middle-income third countries, although consumption has remained stable since 2010, the Belgian Presidency pointed out.
Bearing in mind that 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage, the circular economy has the potential to significantly reduce the use of raw materials and therefore reduce pressure on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. It also improves the resilience of the company and reduces supply risks such as price volatility, availability and import dependency. By 2030, this model could also create more than 700,000 jobs in the EU.
This is the aim of the Belgian Presidency and the EU’s second action plan for a sustainable resource-efficient economy, adopted in March 2020 (see EUROPE 12444/1).
The European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said he was “satisfied” that all the planned legislation had been presented and agreed between the co-legislators, some of which were provisional, but which could be finalised before the June elections.
He cited the proposed Regulation on eco-design for sustainable products, “a pillar of the circular economy”, and legislation enabling citizens “to make informed choices” on sustainable purchasing and consumption, guided by adequate information on the sustainability of products, without greenwashing.
In his opinion, the time has come for implementation and it “will take time for the circular economy to become the norm in the Member States”.
Finalising these dossiers is a priority for Belgium during its 6 months at the helm of the EU Council (see EUROPE 13320/8).
“We didn’t just congratulate each other”, Alain Maron explained after the meeting.
And added: “The European framework is essential and helps Member States. For example, the organic sorting obligation in force in Brussels would not have come into being if the European framework did not exist. This has doubled the amount of organic waste collected, thanks to Europe. The framework is a means of moving forward, but it has to be said that at a macro level, we are not doing enough to reduce the amount of waste we produce and the amount of non-renewable resources we consume. This is a major issue, which must be part of a global economic transition, and therefore must be considered in all sectors and not just in environmental legislation”.
The future ‘Packaging and Packaging Waste’ Regulation, on which negotiations between Parliament and the Council of the EU are due to start on 5 February (see EUROPE 13307/4), has been the subject of a mollifying of the targets for waste prevention and the reuse of packaging by the EU Council and Parliament, anxious not to harm European industry, to the great displeasure of environmental NGOs. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)