Letter to MEPs urging opposition to withdrawal of the Circular Economy Package

7th January 2015 | Letters

Brussels, 7 January 2015

Joint Statement on the European Commission’s plan to withdraw the waste component of the Circular Economy package from its 2015 Work Programme

The signatories of this statement, which include business associations, NGOs and federations of municipalities, wish to underline their support for the Circular Economy package as it would bring about substantial environmental, economic and social benefits. Although there are various ideas about how to improve the current set of proposals, as they were tabled by the European Commission on 2 of July 2014, the Circular Economy Package already provides a strong basis for democratic discussion during the legislative process.

We now call on Members of the European Parliament to support a resolution on the Commission’s 2015 Work Programme which urges the Commission to proceed with the ongoing legislative codecision process. Given its potential for green job creation, improvements to resource security, environmental protection and inclusive development, a withdrawal of the package would represent a missed opportunity and a significant delay to its eventual implementation.

We believe that moving through co-decision now is the most appropriate way to produce better legislation in this field. Supplementary measures to boost the level of ambition, as the new Commission has alluded to, could be also integrated during the ongoing co-decision process through amendments to the existing text. Withdrawing and re-tabling the proposal could lead to unnecessary and harmful regulatory uncertainty, a waste of the EU institutions’ resources and, above all, a delay in the actions and investments required by private and public entities.

Signed by the following organisations:
Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and sustainable Resource management (ACR+), Josep Maria Tost, President
European Biogas Association, Jan Stambasky, President
European Compost Network (ECN), Stefanie Siebert, Executive Director
European Container Glass Federation (FEVE), Adeline Farrelly, Secretary General
European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Jeremy Wates, Secretary General
European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD), Nadine de Greef, Secretary General
Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE), Magda Stoczkiewicz, Director
Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Olaf Tschimpke, President
Oceana Europe, Lasse Gustavsson, Senior Vice President and Executive Director
Plastics Recyclers Europe, Ton Emans, President
Resource Association, Ray Georgeson, Chief Executive
RREUSE, Antigone Dalamagas, President
Seas at Risk, Monica Verbeek, Executive Director
Surfrider Foundation Europe, Gilles Assenjo, President