The CoR adopted today by overwhelming majority the draft opinion on an EU action plan for the Circular Economy, elaborated by PES member Babette Winter, State Secretary for Europe and Culture in the Thuringia State Chancellery (Germany).
The opinion comments on the action plan that is part of the European Commission's Circular Economy Package, together with a series of legislative proposals on amending the EU waste policy. The action plan puts the emphasis on facilitating the transition to a stronger and more circular economy with measures covering the whole economic cycle: from design to production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials.
While welcoming the European Commission's integrated approach, the rapporteur stresses the need for stronger long-term commitments including regular monitoring of progress, and the involvement of all levels of government in the process. "Many cities and regions have already put in place concrete initiatives to promote resource efficiency and the circular economy. They are best placed to lead change on the ground by getting citizens on board for this enormous project", she emphasized.
Asserting the important role of consumers in moving to a more sustainable economy, Babette Winter calls for concrete measures to promote education and raise awareness among citizens, as well as for a more transparent product labelling which includes information on products' environmental effects.
At the same time, the rapporteur underlines the specific role of public authorities at different levels and recalls for instance the important contribution that public procurement can make to lead by example and provide incentives to innovation. In this sense, after a controversial debate, the majority of CoR members supported the call to make Green Public Procurement (GPP) a mandatory criterion in public procurement procedures in a future revision of the EU legal framework, if they are above the threshold for an EU-wide call for tender, and for projects that are financed with public funds.
Another key debate is the role of taxation in promoting the transition to a circular economy. While respecting of course the Member States' competency on taxation matters, the CoR followed the rapporteur's suggestion to allow for a different taxation regime for secondary raw materials. "This does not mean that primary resources should be subject to new taxes, but it should be possible to apply for instance reduced rates of VAT to secondary raw materials, to help establish competitive markets for them", the rapporteur underlined. The opinion also calls for other economic instruments, such as the "polluter pays" principle, to be implemented more swiftly and in a more consistent manner.
Proposals for a swift revision of the eco-design provisions, which should define legally binding requirements as well as ensure independent third-party verification in order to further improve the environmental performance of products, or for the development of a comprehensive eco-tax system, were unfortunately rejected by a coalition of conservative and liberal forces.
Despite these small set-backs, the CoR opinion led by PES rapporteur Babette Winter sends a clear signal to the other European institutions that the transition to a circular economy holds enormous potential to make the EU's economy more sustainable, less dependent on imported resources, more innovative and thus also more competitive. In order to realise this potential, an inclusive process of multi-level governance is necessary which also requires much more in terms of investment both from the EU and from other levels of governance. In this sense, the CoR calls on the European Commission to set up a permanent dialogue with local and regional authorities to work towards this shared aim.
