Where are we now?

The EU’s circular legislation: a status update

On 13 September, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, outlined the main priorities and flagships initiatives of the European Union for the upcoming years in her State of the Union speech.

Following suit, COMPASS took the opportunity to showcase the legislative progress on the key initiatives for the circular sector, which are expected to be finalised before the EU elections next year:

• The Critical Raw Materials Act is about to enter formal trilogue negotiations that are planned to conclude by the end of the year.
• In July, the Commission proposed a revision of the textiles and food waste aspects of the Waste Framework Directive. The Council and Parliament have not finalised their negotiating position yet.
• Similarly, the Council and Parliament are yet to work out their positions on the Directive on common rules promoting the right to repair.
• The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is currently being discussed by the Council and Parliament, the latter plans to vote on the subject in November.
• The trilogue negotiations for the Waste Shipment Regulation and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation are currently underway.

Legislators will attempt to finalise all the above mentioned and currently ongoing legislative procedures before the European Parliament elections in June 2024.

While all votes taken by the Parliament before the election remain valid, the new parliament can decide to continue the work already done or start over again.