EU Circular Economy Act (CEA)

The legislative proposal is expected in the third quarter of 2026

Детергенти с дигитален етикет — новият Регламент на ЕС за детергентите

What the Circular Economy Act is

The Circular Economy Act is a legislative package whose proposal is expected in the third quarter of 2026. The public consultation closed in November 2025. It complements the ESPR rather than duplicating it.

The division is clean: the ESPR creates the data, through Digital Product Passports. The CEA creates the market conditions under which that data becomes economically useful. The Commission frames it as industrial competitiveness policy under the Clean Industrial Deal, not only as environmental regulation.

The measures that change the economics of secondary materials

What the package contains

Harmonised end-of-waste criteria

EU-wide rules on when waste stops being waste. The plastics pilot is estimated to save EUR 120 million a year.

Eco-modulation of EPR fees

Lower fees for durable, repairable and recyclable products — tied directly to ESPR ecodesign requirements and to the data in the passport.

Green public procurement

Mandatory criteria in procurement, which accounts for roughly 14% of EU GDP. Demonstrated sustainability becomes a condition of access to an enormous market.

Separate customs codes

Splitting recycled from virgin materials in the customs nomenclature — a precondition for verifiable recycled content at the border.

The numbers behind it

The investment gap

EUR 82 billion a year: construction EUR 18B, textiles EUR 5B, vehicles and batteries EUR 10B, electronics EUR 5B.

Where the EU stands

The EU circularity rate was 12.2% in 2024 against a target of 24% by 2030 — a doubling in six years.

Three legislative pillars

Amendments to the Waste Framework Directive and the Landfill Directive; reform of the WEEE Directive; and horizontal measures — end-of-waste harmonisation, EPR governance and fiscal instruments.

The Circular Economy Act and the Digital Product Passport

Frequently asked questions

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No. That obligation comes from the ESPR and its product-specific delegated acts. The CEA creates no new DPP mandate — it creates the conditions under which passport data has economic value beyond compliance.

The proposal is expected in the third quarter of 2026. The ordinary legislative procedure with Parliament and Council follows, so the distance between proposal and applicable rules is years, not months.

Because the CEA turns your data into money. Eco-modulated fees, green procurement and customs verification of recycled content all require proof. A company with verified data pays less and reaches more market.

Complementary. The Commission document states the measures will boost transparency "supported by Digital Product Passports". The ESPR produces the data; the CEA builds the market that rewards it.

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