European Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall opened the Annual Conference of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) by emphasizing the critical role of the circular economy amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties. Roswall framed the circular economy not just as waste reduction, but as a strategic overhaul involving design, production, and consumption to build resilience and reduce dependency on volatile resource markets.
Roswall highlighted the upcoming Circular Economy Act as a key legislative initiative aimed at strengthening the Single Market specifically for secondary raw materials. This Act intends to remove supply and demand bottlenecks, improve investment frameworks, and support circular business models, addressing longstanding challenges such as market fragmentation and weak economic incentives for recycled materials. The proposal includes creating more stable, integrated markets that reward circular outcomes, shifting from environmental aspiration to practical market-building. This follows earlier calls for harmonised EU waste rules, such as those made by EU official Sophia Zakari on 9 April 2026, who argued during EUROPEN Single Market Day that fragmentation undermines the single market and hampers circulation of secondary raw materials. Zakari proposed the Circular Economy Act as a tool to harmonise waste definitions and enable cross-border reuse, while facilitating a single digital platform to simplify reporting under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
The Commissioner’s speech signals a push toward deeper EU integration in resource market regulation, seeking to unify fragmented national markets to foster large-scale investment in circular solutions. This implies increasing EU powers over secondary raw materials market regulation, which could affect national authorities’ current approach to recycling and waste management sectors. The European Commission's recent Environmental Omnibus proposal, which drew concern from a coalition on 9 April 2026 over suspending mandatory Authorised Representatives for EPR, underscores ongoing tensions between harmonisation and national enforcement. FEAD, the European Waste Management Association, also called on 9 April 2026 to retain national authorised representative rules, warning that removal would invite free riders.
Roswall also linked circularity to energy and industrial resilience, advocating better use of domestic and bio-based resources to reduce fossil fuel dependency in light of energy price volatility. This aligns with Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné’s recent push on 13 April 2026 for a critical metals strategy to secure supply chains amid Green Deal challenges, intertwining climate goals with industrial resilience. The gypsum industry, through Eurogypsum’s newly elected president Emmanuel Normant on 10 April 2026, highlighted lightweight, low-carbon and recyclable products as key to sustainable housing. Orgalim, on 9 April 2026, called for simplicity and digital tools in the EU's 2026 legislative framework update, recommending digital tools to streamline product information and market surveillance. Cooperatives Europe, also on 9 April, highlighted member-owned cooperatives as key partners for EU circular economy goals, driving resource efficiency and circularity.
EU producers (e.g., steel, plastics, textiles) stand to benefit from clearer market signals and incentives for incorporating recycled content, although initially facing adaptation costs; EU consumers may experience longer-term benefits through increased product durability but could encounter transitional pricing costs; national authorities may face challenges adapting local regulations to the new harmonised EU framework; and EU regulatory bodies will likely see an expanded role in overseeing the Single Market for secondary raw materials. Roswall’s address encourages moving from broad policy support to actionable implementation, underlining collaboration across stakeholders and sectors as essential to realizing a competitive and fair circular economy within the EU Single Market.