Circular Economy Package Withdrawal from the Commission Work Programme 2015
Municipal Waste Europe regrets the Commission's decision to withdraw the Circular Economy Package from the 2015 Work Package while recognising its commitment to revise and re-table a broader, more ambitious Package within three months.
European Municipalities are at the forefront of implementing waste legislation in the Member States and as such, expect the European Commission to give a clear direction to future efforts to recover raw materials and energy and very importantly, to future investments. As the Commission Work Programme rightly underlines, Europe must focus on becoming increasingly independent in its sourcing of resources, both energy and material if it is to be competitive at global level. In many Member States, at national and local level, this need for resource independence, hence a move away from a linear economy and towards a circular economy, has been understood and steps have been taken in this direction. A legislative vacuum on these issues at European level at this point in the history of the European economy would have a seriously damaging effect.
Stakeholders from all areas of the economy agree that this transformation of the foundations of the European economy is much needed. There is widespread consent that in order to progress, waste legislation must deliver greater clarity to enable better implementation and to give Europe access to a local source of raw material and energy resources. Studies conducted by enterprise and industry have demonstrated that, as an economic bloc, Europe imports two thirds more than we export. This is a huge opportunity for extraction of resources waiting to be developed. It has the potential of generating more than half a million European jobs in the field of reparation for reuse and recycling alone. The additional potential in our manufacturing sector has yet to be measured.
The details of how we improve our waste legislation and close the loop of the circular economy still need discussion, but all agree that the ground rules must be set at European level and that the direction proposed in the current package is correct. We are keen to see how the new Commission will combine the expertise of their environment, energy and enterprise departments together with the views of stakeholders, to deliver a joined-‐up package.