Sustainable products and supply chains

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Towards a circular economy—an introduction

The two main aims behind the concept of a circular economy are minimising the generation of waste and maintaining the value of products and materials within the economy for as long as possible.

On 2 December 2015, the Commission adopted a Circular Economy Package to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy. The package entailed a series of revisions to existing waste directives (including the Waste Framework and Packaging Waste Directives) made in 2018, together with supporting measures and guidance produced by the Commission.

On 11 March 2020, as part of the European Green Deal, the Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan (2020 CEAP). The 2020 CEAP adjusted the primary focus of circular economy policy away from waste management and onto the entire life cycle of products. The plan targets how products are designed, promotes circular economy processes, encourages sustainable consumption, and aims to ensure that waste is prevented in the first instance and that resources are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.

In follow up to the 2020 CEAP, the Commission

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Latest EU Law News

ESMA submits final technical standards for European green bonds external reviewers to Commission

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has submitted its final draft regulatory and implementing technical standards to the European Commission for adoption under the European Green Bonds Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2631), which came into application on 21 December 2024. The package, which comprises five regulatory technical standards (RTS) and one implementing technical standard (ITS), sets out detailed requirements for external reviewers of European Green Bonds. These standards cover key aspects of external reviewer operations, including the criteria for assessing systems, resources, and procedures; requirements for the compliance function; standards for internal processes and ICT risk management; criteria to ensure the quality and reliability of information used in reviews; standardised procedures for non-EU external reviewers seeking recognition; and processes for notifying ESMA of material changes to registration information.

EBA publishes annual report on supervisory convergence for 2024

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its annual report on convergence of supervisory practices for 2024 across the EU. It details the EBA’s work to strengthen the alignment of supervisory approaches across Member States and across all dimensions of its activities: prudential, resolution, consumer protection, digital finance and, until the end of 2025, anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

EDPB selects EU GDPR transparency and information obligations as 2026 coordinated enforcement action topic

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has selected compliance with transparency and information obligations under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) as the topic of its fifth coordinated enforcement action, which is set to launch in 2026. The action will focus on Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the EU GDPR, which require that individuals are informed when their personal data is being processed. Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) will participate on a voluntary basis in the coming weeks, with results aggregated and analysed to generate insights for targeted follow-up at both national and European levels. This action forms part of the Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF), established in October 2020. Previous coordinated actions have addressed the designation and role of Data Protection Officers (2024), and the implementation of the right of access by controllers (2025).

ESMA sets out supervisory expectations for management bodies

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on ‘Supervisory Expectations for the Management Body’, which aims to provide a consistent reference point for all supervised entities regarding governance arrangements. ESMA says it will consider the supervisory expectations in Annex III for the purpose of its supervision three months after publication of the final report.

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