Facilitating the potential of permanent materials in EU circular economy - Related links

European Commission & Joint Research Centre

Communications

• Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030 – European Commission Communication (16 April 2025)
• Steel and Metals Action Plan – European Commission Communication (19 March 2025)
• The Clean Industrial Deal – European Commission Communication (26 February 2025)
• Action Plan for Affordable energy – European Commission Communication (26 February 2025)
• A Competitiveness Compass for the EU – European Commission Communication (29 January 2025) 
• Securing our future: Europe's 2040 climate target and path to climate neutrality by 2050 building a sustainable, just and prosperous society – European Commission Communication (6 February 2024)
• Political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024 -2029 – European Commission (2024)
• Making sustainable products the norm – European Commission Communication (30 March 2022)
• Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery – European Commission Communication (5 May 2021)
• Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and Sustainability – European Commission Communication (3 September 2020)
• A new Circular Economy Action Plan – European Commission Communication (11 March 2020)
• The European Green Deal – European Commission Communication (11 December 2019)

Reports

• Transition Pathway for the European Metals Sectors – DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (December 2024)
• The future of European competitiveness: Report by Mario Draghi (9 September 2024)
• Much More than a Market – Enrico Letta's Report on the Future of the Single Market (17 April 2024)
• Scaling up innovative technologies for climate neutrality: mapping of EU demonstration projects in energy-intensive industries – DG for Research and Innovation (2023)
• Circular economy: New tool for measuring progress – DG for Environment (2023)
• Masterplan for a competitive transformation of EU energy-intensive industries enabling a climate-neutral, circular economy by 2050 – DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (2019)

Joint Research Centre

• Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: Study on new product priorities – JRC Report (2024)

European Parliament and Council of the European Union

Legislation and Resolutions

• Packaging and packaging waste – Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024
• A framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials - Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024
• Establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe's net zero technology manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act) – Regulation EU 2024/1735 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 [briefing here – March 2024]
• A New Circular Economy Action Plan – European Parliament resolution of 10 February 2021
• Packaging and packaging waste – Directive (EU) 2018/852 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 May 2018

Briefing

• Commitments made by Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy – European Parliament Briefing (November 2024)
• How to reduce packaging waste in the EU – European Parliament infographics (15 November 2023)
• Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits – European parliament topics (24 May 2023)
• Revision of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste – European Parliament briefing (December 2022)

EPRS

• Resource efficiency and the circular economy – EPRS Factsheet (13 June 2024)
• Critical raw materials act – At a Glance (7 December 2023) [briefing here]
• Moving towards Zero-Emission Steel – EPRS Study (16 December 2021)
• Material use in the European Union: Towards a circular approach – EPRS Briefing (11 September 2018)
• Substitutionability of Critical Raw Materials – EPRS Study (25 September 2012)

Additional Articles, Studies and Reports

• Circular economy Monitoring framework – Eurostat
• Material flow accounts statistics – material footprints – Eurostat
• Decarbonisation Pathways in Aluminium vs Competing Materials – International Aluminium Report (factsheet here) (2025)
• Improving Automotive steel recycling for a circular economy – ICCT Policy Brief (18 March 2025)
• The Circular Economy in Cities and regions of the European Union – OECD (15 April 2025)
• EU Vision Paper: our industry priorities for the EU term 2024-2029 – Steel for Packaging Europe (2024)
• Reaffirming our ambition for a Circular Economy: Call for action in the EU – Permanent Materials Alliance (December 2024)
• Circular economy policies for steel decarbonisation – OECD (6 December 2024)
• Exports in recyclable raw materials increased in 2023 – Eurostat News Article (22 May 2024)
• Executive Summary of the Roundtable on Competition in the Circular Economy – OECD (20 March 2024)
• Public View on the Circular Economy – European Environment Agency (25 October 2024)
• Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway – International Energy Agency (2023)
• A European Steel Action Plan – IndustriAll and EUROFER (2024)
• Circular Aluminium Action Plan – European Aluminium Executive summary (2022)
• The EU Steel Industry on the carbon border adjustment mechanism – EUROFER (16 September 2021)
• Resource efficiency, the circular economy, sustainable materials management and trade in metals and minerals – OECD Working Party of the Trade Committee (22 February 2021)
• EUROFER feedback on reducing packaging waste – EUROFER
• Steel and the circular economy – EUROFER 

European Committee of the Regions

Opinions

• CDR-0709-2024: The role of local and regional authorities in the transition towards a circular economy; Rapporteur: Loredana Capone (2024)
• CDR-1265 New circular economy Action Plan (2020)