Written by Marc Lütz
Dear reader,
As temperatures begin to rise across Europe, so too does the intensity of the EU’s sustainability agenda. Policymakers are sharpening their focus on circularity, resource efficiency and industrial resilience, with increasing pressure to turn political ambition into something more concrete. Across the institutions, attention is shifting from broad objectives to the harder question of delivery: how these goals can be translated into a coherent and workable regulatory framework, while navigating geopolitical uncertainty and the need to maintain industrial competitiveness.
In this edition, we look at the political momentum building around the upcoming Circular Economy Act, including calls from S&D MEPs for a more comprehensive and ambitious approach. We also cover the Commission’s efforts to streamline sustainability legislation under its better regulation agenda, developments in the next EU budget and the future of the LIFE programme, and the decision to step back from revising the REACH Regulation. Alongside this, we examine ongoing discussions on plastics and microplastic pollution, including the potential expansion of product bans under the Single-Use Plastics framework.
The spotlight
S&D makes the case for a comprehensive Circular Economy Act
On 15 April, a group of S&D MEPs addressed a joint letter to Executive Vice-Presidents Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné, as well as Commissioner Jessika Roswall, calling for an ambitious and comprehensive Circular Economy Act. The initiative comes as the EU seeks to build on recent progress in circular economy policies, while acknowledging that the EU economy remains largely linear. Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, the letter underlines the need to reduce reliance on external raw materials and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy through a more resource-efficient model.
The signatories call for the establishment of clear and ambitious targets across the value chain, including on material footprint reduction, process efficiency, waste minimisation, and the scaling up of reuse, repair and recycling. At the same time, they highlight the ongoing challenges faced by key circular sectors, notably recycling and repair, pointing to the importance of ensuring that the regulatory framework supports viable and competitive market conditions.
In terms of implementation, the letter emphasises the need for greater harmonisation across Member States, including through common end-of-waste criteria and more aligned Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. It also points to complementary measures such as integrating chemicals into lifecycle frameworks, strengthening sustainability and “made in Europe” requirements, revising the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive into a regulation, and reviewing VAT rules to better support second-hand markets. As work towards the CEA progresses, the coming period is expected to be important in shaping how these priorities are translated into a coherent and operational framework across the Union.
Alongside these developments, other political groups are advancing their own perspectives on the future direction of EU circular economy policy. In this context, the Greens/EFA will host the “Remade in Europe” event on 5 May in Brussels, focusing on the role of circular economy solutions in supporting industrial resilience, job creation and economic security. The discussions will draw on the group’s October policy paper “Saving Resources to Save Europe,” notably its emphasis on scaling circular business models and strengthening the link between resource efficiency and Europe’s strategic autonomy. Bringing together policymakers, industry representatives and civil society, the event is expected to contribute to the broader policy debate surrounding the Circular Economy Act and its implementation.
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Policy updates
Parliament pushes to preserve dedicated LIFE funding in next EU budget
On 28 April, the European Parliament adopted its position on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), with 370 votes in favour. In this text, the Parliament explicitly calls for dedicated funding of €3.39 billion for the LIFE programme. LIFE is the EU’s dedicated instrument for nature, biodiversity and climate action and, according to Parliament, “plays a central role in mainstreaming the EU’s environmental objectives and commitments.” The European Commission’s original MFF text proposed merging LIFE into a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) alongside several other programmes, a move which the European Court of Auditors warned could risk undermining their objectives.
European Commission formally abandons long-planned REACH revision
The European Commission has officially cancelled the comprehensive revision of the REACH regulation, ending a legislative journey that began with the 2020 Green Deal. Commissioner Jessika Roswall confirmed the abandonment in the ENVI committee on 27 April, citing a political and economic climate no longer conducive to such a major overhaul.
This decision follows years of delays driven by the energy crisis, industry concerns over administrative burdens, and the difficulty of balancing environmental goals with industrial competitiveness. Instead of pursuing legislative reform, the executive branch will now focus on simplifying and enforcing the existing chemical safety frameworks. It plans to amend REACH annexes via secondary legislation, relying on comitology procedure and thus bypassing the European Parliament. This decision represents a significant departure from the original intent to significantly tighten chemical protections across the European Union.
Commission streamlines sustainability lawmaking under new better regulation strategy
On 28 April, the European Commission unveiled a plan to simplify lawmaking, significantly impacting sustainability policies such as REACH and the European Green Deal. This strategy recognises health, food safety and the environment among its 12 priority areas and prescribes the use of strict regulation over directives. It also embeds “simplicity by design” into all proposals and initiates a “regulatory deep cleaning” to remove overlapping rules and reduce administrative burdens.
Recent actions under this deregulation drive have already triggered a rollback of environmental disclosure requirements and proposed relaxations for chemicals in cosmetics. To balance these changes, all new initiatives must strictly adhere to the “do no significant harm” principle and align with climate-neutrality targets. The Commission will now prioritise Life Cycle Assessments and the “one-in, one-out” approach to ensure environmental goals are met with minimal business costs. These measures are intended to bolster industrial competitiveness while maintaining the EU’s commitment to a sustainable social market economy.
EU evaluates expanded bans to combat persistent plastic and microplastic pollution
The European Commission continues its assessment of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) with a targeted consultation on the effectiveness of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and the precision of legal definitions for “single-use plastic products”. The European executive also considers shifting the legal framework from a directive to a regulation to ensure more uniform application of waste reduction targets across Member States.
Through the SUPD review, the European Commission seeks to determine if expanding product bans to include items like plastic cigarette filters is necessary to mitigate microplastic pollution. Recent findings from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment confirm that cellulose acetate filters decompose very slowly and act as a major source of environmental plastics. A potential ban would remove this persistent source without harming public health, as these plastic components offer no proven medical benefits. This comes at a time when the European executive aims to streamline sustainability efforts by prioritising the removal of synthetic materials that have high environmental impact but low functional necessity.
