WIREDGOV

Local leaders want Europe to move faster towards a low-carbon circular economy that revitalises Europe's growth while respecting the environment. The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) asks for Green Public Procurement to be mandatory for public authorities in Europe, calls for tax incentives for secondary raw materials and the 'polluter pays' principle to be thoroughly applied and implemented swiftly. These are some of the recommendations adopted yesterday during the CoR's plenary session in Brussels. Cities and regions want ambitious and legally binding measures to boost a circular-economy model that preserves the value of products and resources, is sustainable, low-carbon, technologically advanced and resource-efficient and also generates jobs in Europe.

" We cannot build a long term circular economy without an ambitious and clear action plan, and certainly not without political will, and we need to take citizens with us on this journey,"said Babette Winter (DE/PES), State Secretary for Europe and Culture of Thuringia and rapporteur of the CoR's opinion ' Closing the loop – An EU action plan for the Circular Economy '. " We must start by ending counterproductive subsidies and regulatory measures that go against circular-economy objectives, such as funding production sites or products that do not meet eco-design requirements."

The CoR asks for 'green public procurement' to become a mandatory criterion for public tenders above EU thresholds, in view of a planned revision of the public-procurement framework. Local leaders also call for binding economic regulations on sustainable sourcing and urge the European Commission and Member States to incentivise secondary raw materials, by allowing preferential tax rates to be applied to them by member states.

Local and regional authorities urge the European Commission to present a thorough revision of EU eco-design provisions. CoR members agreed that the setting of product- and sector-specific eco-design requirements should be examined.

A product's environmental impact should be assessed across its life-cycle and should be shown on easily understandable labels. Local and regional authorities call on the Commission and Member States to implement the 'polluter pays' principle swiftly and in a coherent manner. Future legislative proposals from the Commission ought to flesh out how producers should internalise the total costs of products along the entire value chain.

The European Committee of the Regions also regrets that the problem of littering and plastic leaching, pharmaceuticals and nanomaterials' waste are not included in the Commission's action plan for a circular economy.

Local and regional authorities underline that education and awareness-raising measures are essential, in order to speed up the transition to a circular economy and regret that they are missing from the European Commission's action plan.

The European Committee of the Regions would like the European Commission to engage in a regular dialogue to assess the progress achieved in relation to the implementation of the action plan for the circular economy.

Contact:

David Crous

david.crous@cor.europa.eu

+32 (0) 470 88 10 37