Member States have until the 4th of July 2020 to transpose the updated Waste Framework Directive. After a final vote in the Senate on the 30th of January, France is now the first to validate its transposition law. Among other ambitious proposals, the text will trigger the creation of a Solidarity Re-use Fund, a re-use and preparing for re-use target, a ban on the destruction of unsold goods, re-use corners […]
A professional approach to the preparation for reuse[1] of WEEE[2] is essential both in terms of consumer safety and confidence when purchasing second-hand goods. It is also important because of health, safety and environmental issues, particularly considering the potential presence of substances of concern). Hundreds of social economy enterprises across Europe are active in this sector, giving a new lease of life to products and providing local job and training […]
The European Semester provides a structure to coordinate the economic policies of the European Union. In this framework, EU countries discuss their economic and budgetary plans, while monitoring their progress throughout the year. The European Semester consists of an initial policy guidance phase, secondary to a country specific phase, followed by an implementation phase and finally a preparatory phase which consists of both analysis and fulfilment.RREUSE comments on the European […]
55 % of procurement procedures still use the lowest price as the only award criterion [1], without considering any potential added social or environmental value they could support through making purchase choices between competing products or services. With public authorities in the EU spending about 14 % of GDP on public purchases, they have significant potential in driving markets for ethical and sustainable purchases and supporting local job creation. Re-use, […]
On 18 January 2018, the European Commission published proposals to revise the current VAT directive, part of an effort to create a harmonised and simplified VAT system across the EU. The proposals are now under the scrutiny of the European Parliament which is set to formalise its opinion during a plenary sitting in October this year. Nevertheless, at a later stage the ultimate decision on the final rules rests in […]
As part of the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package, a number of EU waste laws have recently been updated with Member States having until 4th July 2020 to transpose the new provisions into their national legal frameworks. These include EU Directives on Waste, Packaging and Packaging Waste, Landfill, Batteries, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and End of Life Vehicles (EoLV). RREUSE, the European network of social enterprises active in […]
National Reform Programmes 2018 The European Semester aims at contributing to the coordination of economic policies across the European Union (EU). Within the European Semester [1] process, National Reform Programmes (NRPs) [2] are published by Member States each year, to present the policies that are going to be adopted in order to boost jobs and growth and to counter macroeconomic imbalances. Some sections of the NRPs are dedicated to respond to […]
In Europe 77% of citizens would be willing to have their goods repaired but hardly ever do because it is too expensive for them to do so [1]. Re-use and repair activities need to be made cheaper in order for Europe to keep the value of products and prevent wasting resources. The Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of economic instruments to help ensure the extension of a […]
In 2014, the trade of used clothes, a global commodity, was around 4.2 million tonnes with a value of 4.4bn Dollars (1). Whilst historically the collection of used clothes has been associated with charitable and solidarity objectives, the sector has evolved to include a wide range of actors, both formal and informal in nature – competition between these entities is significant during periods of high global demand for used textile, […]
Setting binding targets for preparing for re-use at EU level amongst the 10 key steps to get the circular economy package on track. We call on the EU Parliament and Member States to put second-hand first Download the full pdf here