European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
circular economy
Living in the EU: Circular economy
Circular economy is a production and consumption model that involves reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products to keep materials within the economy. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – February 2021
With the coronavirus continuing to rage throughout Europe, Parliament’s plenary agenda focuses firmly on getting beyond the crisis. Continue reading
Critical raw materials for the EU: Enablers of the green and digital recovery [Policy Podcast]
The pandemic has highlighted the risk involved, including for the EU, in relying heavily on external suppliers. The EU’s 30 critical raw materials (CRMs) combine two characteristics: they are strategically important for its industry and economy, and there are high risks associated with securing their supply. Continue reading
Ten issues to watch in 2021
The year ahead of us is critical in many ways: 2021 is the first year of recovery after the coronavirus pandemic hit the world in 2020. In the five-year European political cycle, it is a year in which progress towards significant action and implementation are expected, after a first year generally more focused on declarations and planning. And global events and geopolitical tensions make it no less critical at international level. Continue reading
The von der Leyen Commission’s six priorities: State of play in autumn 2020
In her statements to the European Parliament in July and November 2019, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the political priorities that would shape the Commission’s work programme for the years 2019 to 2024. The 2020 Commission work programme, adopted before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, mirrored these priorities. Continue reading
What if fashion were good for the planet? [Science and Technology podcast]
Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, coming just after oil. Clothing manufacture and consumption have a huge negative impact on both the environment and people. Continue reading
Consumers and repair of products
Repairing broken or damaged products can save consumers money by helping them postpone making replacement purchases, while also bringing benefits to the environment through lower waste production and use of resources. Continue reading
3 Key Questions on Circular economy
We are used to an economy based on a ‘take-make-consume-throw away’ pattern: this is the linear economy. Continue reading
EU policies – Delivering for citizens: Environmental protection [Policy Podcast]
Through its environmental policy, the European Union (EU) has been improving Europeans’ well-being since 1972. Today, the aim of EU environmental policy is to ensure that by 2050 we are living well, within the limits of the planet. Continue reading
Material use in the European Union: Towards a circular approach
Global material use has tripled during the past four decades, in particular as a result of increasing living standards. The use of materials, which need to be extracted from our environment, can pose environmental challenges. It can also be threatened by resource scarcity and price volatility. Continue reading
What is the EU doing to reduce food waste?
In the EU, food waste is estimated at some 88 million tonnes in a single year, which equates to 173 kilograms per person. The total amount of food produced in the EU in 2011 was around 865 kg/person. This means that we are wasting 20 % of the total food produced. In this context, citizens turn to the European Parliament to request information on what the EU is doing to reduce food waste, as well as calling for European legislation to end food waste in every country in Europe, including several petitions introduced on this matter. Continue reading
EU fertilising products [EU Legislation in Progress]
Fertilising products are used to improve plant growth, mainly in agriculture, enabling higher crop yields. However, they are associated with some challenges as regards security of supply, the environment and health. Continue reading
Circular economy package: Four legislative proposals on waste [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Didier Bourguignon (7th edition), Updated on 4.7.2018 Although waste management in the EU has improved considerably in recent decades, over a quarter of municipal waste is still landfilled and less than half is recycled or composted, with wide variations between Member States. Improving waste management could deliver positive effects for the environment, climate, … Continue reading
Environmental protection: an opportunity for a better future
Written by Didier Bourguignon. Green Week, an annual event on European environment policy, takes place from 29 May to 2 June 2017. This year’s edition will focus on ‘Green jobs for a greener future’. The potential of green jobs According to a recent Eurobarometer survey for the European Parliament, the ‘fight against unemployment’ and ‘environmental protection’ rank in … Continue reading
Circular economy: animated infographic
Written by Didier Bourguignon, Jana Valant, Christian Dietrich and Mitja Brus. In a circular economy, products and the materials they contain are highly valued. This contrasts with the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a ‘take-make-consume-throw away’ pattern. In practice, a circular economy minimises waste through reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials … Continue reading
Cleaning up our act, how to go about waste management in Europe?
Written by Nera Kuljanic with Sarah McCormack As the EU and its Member States are seeking ways to reduce and better manage their waste, now is a good time to examine the current state of play and future direction of waste management in Europe. On 15 June 2016, the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment … Continue reading
Waste management: Which way for the circular way?
Workshop hashtag: #EndWasteSTOA Registrations: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/cms/home/workshops/waste Webstreaming : http://eptwitter.eu/EndWasteSTOA Written by Nera Kuljanic with Sarah McCormack, On 15 June 2016, the EP Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel, represented by its First Vice Chair Eva Kaili (S&D, EL), will host a workshop to discuss waste management in the EU. It will bring together policy-makers, experts … Continue reading
Planned obsolescence: Exploring the issue
Written by Jana Valant, Although no overarching definition of planned obsolescence exists, the term ‘planned obsolescence’ (of products or technology) is described as the intentional production of goods and services with short economic lives, stimulating consumers to repeat purchases too frequently. The incandescent light bulb with an engineered shorter lifespan (the Phoebus cartel case) is … Continue reading
Circular economy: the second round
Written by Dessislava Yougova, This dossier is an update to the previous version published in June 2014, in the context of the first Commission proposal on the circular economy. The aim is to provide a selection of recent and relevant studies on the topic. On 2 December 2015, the European Commission presented a new circular economy … Continue reading
Closing the loop: New circular economy package
Written by Didier Bourguignon Unlike the traditional linear economic model based on a ‘take-make-consume-throw away’ pattern, a circular economy is based on sharing, leasing, reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling, in an (almost) closed loop, where products and the materials they contain are highly valued. In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum. Moving towards … Continue reading
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