European Commissioner for Environment, Jessika Roswall, announced on April 29 that the European Commission will adopt a Circular Economy Act later this year, aiming to create a single market for waste, secondary materials, and circular goods. Speaking at the LOOP Forum 2026, she also pledged to review EU e-waste rules to improve collection and recycling rates, which currently stand below 40% and 30% respectively. Roswall framed circularity as a strategic necessity for competitiveness, resilience, and economic security, citing an annual investment gap of €82 billion and a 12% circularity rate in Europe.
Roswall identified five key obstacles to the circular transition: fragmentation of the Single Market, underperforming secondary raw material markets, an uneven playing field for material capture, limited investor confidence, and consumer behaviour misaligned with circularity. She argued that as long as virgin materials remain cheaper than recycled ones, the transition cannot happen, stressing the need to 'get the economics right.'
Concrete proposals and regulatory levers
The Commissioner outlined two specific regulatory actions. First, a review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to widen its scope, improve collection and material recovery, reform extended producer responsibility, and harmonise treatment standards. Second, an update of rules governing the transition from waste to secondary raw materials, including waste definitions and shipment rules, alongside measures to stimulate demand through circular public procurement and recycled content requirements.
last year's support for plastic recyclers, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, and the EU Water Resilience Strategy. She noted that water reuse and sludge-to-energy links to circularity will be addressed in the upcoming Circular Economy Act.
Policy orientation and trade-offs
The speech shifts EU policy towards stronger regulatory intervention to accelerate circularity, moving beyond voluntary measures. This approach imposes new compliance costs on producers—particularly in electronics, automotive, and packaging sectors—who may face stricter collection targets, recycled content mandates, and extended producer responsibility fees. Consumers could benefit from more durable and repairable products but may face higher upfront costs. EU member states will need to harmonise waste rules, potentially reducing administrative fragmentation but requiring national legislative adjustments. The emphasis on secondary raw materials and reduced imports of critical raw materials strengthens EU strategic autonomy, though it may increase short-term costs for industries reliant on virgin materials. The cleavage between environmental protection and business competitiveness is evident: Roswall prioritises long-term resilience and resource independence over short-term cost savings for industry.
Stakeholder impacts - EU producers (electronics, automotive, packaging): Moderate negative impact from new compliance costs and recycled content mandates; positive long-term from reduced material costs and supply security. - EU consumers: Positive impact from more durable, repairable products; negative from potential price increases. - National authorities of EU countries: Moderate positive from harmonised rules; negative from implementation costs. - EU recycling and secondary materials industry: Major positive from increased demand and regulatory support.
Roswall concluded by emphasising that circularity is a top priority, linking it to decarbonisation, competitiveness, resource scarcity, and security. She called on industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and researchers to drive the transition, noting that European companies—particularly in the Nordics—are already leading with innovations in lithium recycling, compostable packaging, and remanufactured gearboxes.
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