12.2.2 The Circular Economy Transition in the EU
The EU has been very active early on in its vision for environmental protection and
has integrated more aspects and policies in the introduction of the CE for its member
states on December 2, 2015, when the European Commission put forward a package
to support the EU’s transition to a circular economy including an Action Plan with
54 specific actions (European Commission 2020). On March 4, 2019, the Commission informed on the complete execution of the Action Plan claiming that all
54 actions have been delivered or are being implemented. This is expected to not
only protect the environment and generate sustainable growth but also create jobs,
contribute to boost Europe’s competitiveness and modernise its economy and
industry. Hence, the influence of the EU CE strategy for the member states is
multi-faceted: legally binding, inspirational and providing incentives.
The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy outlines a set of both general and
material-specific actions. While some obstacles to a circular economy are generic,
different sectors and materials face specific challenges due to the particularities of
the value chain.
General measures include product design, production process, consumption, from
waste to resources (secondary raw materials), innovation, investment and other
cross-cutting issues. While actions for specific materials and sectors include plastics,
food value chain, critical raw materials, construction and demolition, biomass and
bio-based products and review of fertilisers’ legislation.
Many Directorates General (DG) of the European Commission, with a prominent
role played by DG Environment, DG Grow, DG Research and Innovation and DG
Energy, are directly or indirectly involved in the transition to the CE, using technical
assistance, policy advice and financial incentives to support member states in their
national policies. For the purposes of this chapter, we focus on the support provided
by DG Regional Development, which codesigns the use of European Structural and
Investment Funds (ESIF) with the member states and encourages them to use and to
support the CE, using the following investment priorities
1 :
While the ESIF/SSS is an incentive for the CE in parallel with recommendations
and encouragement, the European Commission uses the process of the European
Semester to provide a framework for the coordination of economic policies across
the European Union. It allows EU countries to discuss their economic and budget
plans and monitor progress at specific times throughout the year. Each year, the
Commission undertakes a detailed analysis of each country’s plans for budget,
macroeconomic and structural reforms. It then provides EU governments with
1 The Partnership Agreement between the EU and the member states foresees the Operational
Programmes to report based on specific thematic objectives and investment priorities, subject to
the priorities decided in each member state.
202
L. Tsipouri et al.
The EU has been very active early on in its vision for environmental protection and
has integrated more aspects and policies in the introduction of the CE for its member
states on December 2, 2015, when the European Commission put forward a package
to support the EU’s transition to a circular economy including an Action Plan with
54 specific actions (European Commission 2020). On March 4, 2019, the Commission informed on the complete execution of the Action Plan claiming that all
54 actions have been delivered or are being implemented. This is expected to not
only protect the environment and generate sustainable growth but also create jobs,
contribute to boost Europe’s competitiveness and modernise its economy and
industry. Hence, the influence of the EU CE strategy for the member states is
multi-faceted: legally binding, inspirational and providing incentives.
The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy outlines a set of both general and
material-specific actions. While some obstacles to a circular economy are generic,
different sectors and materials face specific challenges due to the particularities of
the value chain.
General measures include product design, production process, consumption, from
waste to resources (secondary raw materials), innovation, investment and other
cross-cutting issues. While actions for specific materials and sectors include plastics,
food value chain, critical raw materials, construction and demolition, biomass and
bio-based products and review of fertilisers’ legislation.
Many Directorates General (DG) of the European Commission, with a prominent
role played by DG Environment, DG Grow, DG Research and Innovation and DG
Energy, are directly or indirectly involved in the transition to the CE, using technical
assistance, policy advice and financial incentives to support member states in their
national policies. For the purposes of this chapter, we focus on the support provided
by DG Regional Development, which codesigns the use of European Structural and
Investment Funds (ESIF) with the member states and encourages them to use and to
support the CE, using the following investment priorities
1 :
While the ESIF/SSS is an incentive for the CE in parallel with recommendations
and encouragement, the European Commission uses the process of the European
Semester to provide a framework for the coordination of economic policies across
the European Union. It allows EU countries to discuss their economic and budget
plans and monitor progress at specific times throughout the year. Each year, the
Commission undertakes a detailed analysis of each country’s plans for budget,
macroeconomic and structural reforms. It then provides EU governments with
1 The Partnership Agreement between the EU and the member states foresees the Operational
Programmes to report based on specific thematic objectives and investment priorities, subject to
the priorities decided in each member state.
202
L. Tsipouri et al.