The European machine is getting back on track. The Circular economy act (Cea) is beginning to take concrete shape. Acting as a compass in this preparatory phase is the briefing of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), distributed to MEPs to frame the political and technical knots of the measure.At stake is not only the environment, but the industrial resilience and economic competitiveness of the Union.
Cea was born within the Clean Industrial Deal and the Competitiveness Compass. After years in which the circular economy has been treated primarily as an environmental issue, Brussels is putting it back at the center of economic strategy. Reducing consumption of virgin raw materials, increasing material recovery, and strengthening the market for secondary resources are indeed ecological, but also industrial, goals on a continent that imports some critical raw materials almost entirely.
The EPRS briefing puts it in black and white: Europe is nearly 100 percent dependent for strategic elements such as heavy rare earths, while recycling rates for key materials-lithium and rare earths-remain below 1 percent. A paradox for an economy focused on the energy and digital transition.
The real obstacle: 27 markets, not one
Among the most sensitive issues emerges regulatory fragmentation. Today what is considered “end of waste” in one member state may not be in another. The result: legal uncertainty, complicated cross-border trade, and curbed investment.
The CEA promises to address this very node, working on harmonized criteria and a single market for secondary raw materials. A step that could radically change the functioning of recycling supply chains. The idea is simple, the implementation much less so: it means touching delicate balances between national competencies, environmental controls, and industry standards.
Increasing recycling rates alone is not enough. Europe continues to consume and discard too much. Average materials consumption remains around 14 tons per capita per year, a level deemed unsustainable compared to planetary limits.
Then there is the more pragmatic issue: the price gap between virgin and recycled materials. In many supply chains, secondary raw materials cost more or are perceived to be of lower quality. This “price/quality gap” weakens demand and makes the business case for recycling fragile.
The CEa will have to decide how to intervene: incentives, mandatory minimum recycled material content, more stringent green public procurement, tax instruments. The problem is recognized, solutions remain open.
Extended producer responsibility under scrutiny
Another hot topic: the governance of extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems. Created to pass on the costs of waste management to producers, they show structural limitations in some sectors. The risk is a short circuit: schemes that are formally circular but ineffective in promoting reuse, recycling quality and prevention.
Finally, an issue that is bound to grow: the possible health risks associated with some recycling processes. In particular, the paper draws attention to microplastics generated by mechanical recycling of plastics. Not an attack on recycling, but a call to integrate circularity and safety.
Stated ambition, expected tools
The flagship goal remains to double the rate of circular material use: from 12.2 percent to 24 percent by 2030. A remarkable leap that will require more than statements of principle. The real test will come with operational choices: effective regulatory harmonization, credible economic instruments, incentives for recycling quality, prevention measures.
One course of action is suggested by the world of business and industry associations gathered in the Circular Economy Network (CEN), the Italian network promoted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development. In its position paper on the Circular Economy Act, CEN urges Brussels to confirm and accelerate the implementation of the measures already taken under the Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan and, above all, to quickly create a true single European market for secondary raw materials, which is today hampered by fragmented regulations among member states. For the Network, regulatory harmonization, structured incentives, and targeted industrial and fiscal policies are essential conditions for strengthening industry competitiveness, reducing dependence on imports of critical resources, and moving closer to the circularity goals set by the Union. Because the Circular economy act will be more than just an environmental law. It will be a piece of the new European industrial policy.
