Commissioner Roswalls speech at the event, ‘EUs environment for prosperity and resilience

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues,

I am delighted to open this discussion.

Let me begin by congratulating the EEA.

“Europes Environment 2025” is a vital contribution to a vital discussion.

It is clear, comprehensive, and compelling.

It highlights important progress – and that must be celebrated. But it also offers a powerful call to action.

We urgently need to take heed – and that starts with rethinking how we live, how we do business, and how we interact with the world around us.

While many citizens and businesses are concerned by climate change and environmental degradation, we still rely too much on linear patterns.

We extract, produce, consume, dump, and waste – and then we start from scratch and do it all over again. 

In the last fifty years, global extraction of resources has more than tripled.

We are using natural resources nearly twice as fast as ecosystems can regenerate them.

Something needs to change!

We are running out of resources and running out of time to break this spiral.

But its not all bad news.

We can actually do something about it - here and now - and support our competitiveness and growth at the same time.

The answer is circularity, and this was also highlighted by Executive Director Ylä-Mononen in her keynote speech a little while ago. 

If we can make more with the same amount of natural resources, we can: 

• improve our economic security and resilience,
• increase our competitiveness, 
• reduce environmental impacts, and
• conserve more water.

We can reduce waste, create more value, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

For example, circular measures alone could deliver at least 20–25% of the greenhouse gas emissions reduction we need to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 

This is simply too good an opportunity to ignore.

However, despite all our efforts, recycled material only accounts for 12% of the materials we use in Europe.

And this figure has only improved by 1% since 2010. 1%!

So instead of moving towards circularity, it seems that were standing still, while the world changes rapidly around us.

We need to catch up.

That means working harder. But more importantly, it means working smarter!

And that starts with getting the economics right.

Demand for circulated materials is still too weak, and the economics favour primary over secondary raw materials.

This needs to change!

We are preparing a Circular Economy Act that will aim to establish a fair and functional Single Market for waste and secondary raw materials, including critical ones.The Act will bring a special focus to electronic and electrical equipment waste, the fastest growing waste stream.  

And it will include measures to improve market resilience and stability.

We will simplify and digitalise extended producer responsibility – while ensuring that producers take full account of a products life cycle.

We will look at best practices in those Member States that have well functioning national systems.

We will reform the “end-of-waste” and “by-product” criteria to ease the transition from waste to secondary raw materials.

We need to start seeing waste as wealth. Not as rubbish, but as a resource.

And we will boost demand – for example introducing stronger criteria for public procurement.

The benefits are clear:

Reducing our reliance on scarce raw materials and diversifying value chains will help us move towards a sustainable, resilient, and circular model of growth.

One that preserves natural capital, stimulates innovation and clean enterprise, and that creates long-term material security.

Right now, we are exploring whether we can speed up parts of the Act – including in the areas of plastics and chemical recycling.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Europes resilience, and the health of our economies, cannot be separated from the health of the world around us – our environment, ecosystems and nature.

This message comes across clearly in the EEA report. And it was echoed yesterday by Vice-President Ribera and me at the press conference.

We must embed circularity at the heart of our industrial transformation.

Not only to meet our environmental goals, but to create meaningful jobs, and to strengthen competitiveness, resilience and inclusiveness.

Moving from a linear to a circular economy is a vital step towards thriving societies and a sustainable planet.

And it will complement our European Water Resilience Strategy, our upcoming Bioeconomy Strategy, and the Clean Industrial Deal – all of which aim to build a cleaner, more competitive Europe.

These are shared solutions to shared challenges – and they need all hands on deck.

The Commission and the European Environmental Agency will continue to collaborate closely.

And we will work with the European Parliament, Member States and civil society to share ideas and experience.

The views, expertise and commitment of business leaders, NGOs, experts and citizens are vital.

They will help to guide the design of the Circular Economy Act – and I urge you all to contribute to the ongoing public consultation.

And together, we can build an economy that is not only circular, but also competitive, fair and future proofed.

Now, I look forward to an insightful and forward-looking discussion.

Thank you.