On 17 November 2021, the European Commission tabled a proposal to revise EU rules governing shipments of waste. The proposed regulation aims at easing shipments of waste for reuse and recycling in the EU, to support the transition to a circular economy; ensuring that waste exported from the EU is managed in an environmentally sound manner in the destination countries; and stepping up enforcement to counteract illegal shipments of waste. While supporting the proposed streamlining and digitalisation of procedures, stakeholders have stressed the need for significant improvements to ensure that the new regulation fulfils its objectives, in particular as regards exports of waste.

EPRS policy podcast - Revision of the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation

Over the past decade, space has gained increasing importance as an economic sector offering opportunities for established and emerging markets. Space policies and their applications have also gained in political relevance due to their capacity to tackle global challenges, such as the climate and biodiversity crises, but also due to the growing reliance of the EU economy and society on space infrastructure, services and data. This briefing focuses on the state of play in regard to the EU's space economy, while also examining the EU's reliance on space services. Specifically, it highlights the relevance of the EU in the global space market and looks at the ways the EU could boost its use of space data and services to deliver on its main political priorities.

EPRS policy podcast - EU space policy: Boosting EU competitiveness and accelerating the twin ecological and digital transition

Payment systems are of vital importance for today's economies and are the core activity of central banks. To adapt to recent trends – including the decline in cash usage, the surge in online commerce and contactless forms of payment, and the creation of cryptocurrencies – central banks have, in recent years, explored the possibility of issuing digital currencies themselves. In this podcast, we’ll talk about digital currencies issued by central banks. We’ll look at the different design choices and examine the potential benefits and risks of such crypto-currencies.

EPRS policy podcast - Central bank digital currencies: Evolution or revolution?

Green bonds are committed to financing or re-financing investments, projects, expenditure or assets helping to address climate and environmental issues. Both governments and companies use them to finance the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy. Since the EIB inaugurated the green bond market in 2007 with its Climate Awareness Bond, the market has grown very fast, but it still represents only about 3 to 3.5 % of overall bond issuance. The green bond market needs to grow more quickly to achieve the targets in the Paris Agreement. In this podcast, we’ll talk about European green bonds, a tool for financing green investments that can help us make the transition to a low-carbon economy, and how a European standard could be become global.

EPRS policy podcast - European green bonds: A standard for Europe, open to the world

The European Commission has announced the establishment of a 'right to repair', with a view of saving costs for consumers and facilitating the development of a circular economy. The right to repair may refer to different issues and situations: repair during the legal guarantee, the right to repair after the legal guarantee has expired, and the right for consumers to repair products themselves. Rates of repair depend on the type of a product, with the cost of repair being the most important reason consumers avoid repair. Research shows that consumers favour products that are easily repaired, but their willingness to pay for such products depends on the type of product and the way information on the reparability is presented to them...

EPRS policy podcast - Right to repair

The growing importance of global supply chains has fundamentally changed the way the global economy and goods manufacturing are organised. While trade conducted through global supply chains has fallen somewhat as a share of total trade since the 2008-2010 global financial and economic crisis, more than two-thirds of international trade still involves transactions made possible by such chains. In this podcast, we’ll focus on global supply chains. We’ll analyse how dependent we are on them, the impact of the pandemic and what can be done –at the European and the global level- to make these chains more resilient in the future.

EPRS policy podcast - Resilience of global supply chains: Challenges and solutions

In March 2018, the EU introduced a legislative package on the fair taxation of the digital economy. It contained proposals for an interim and a long-term digital tax. However, there was no immediate political agreement in the Council. As finding a global solution at the OECD level or a coordinated EU approach was not yet feasible at the time, some Member States started designing or implementing their own digital taxes, which gave rise to trade tensions. In this podcast, we talk about taxing the digital economy. We analyse the main challenges, look at EU proposals and new developments to make international tax regimes fit for the digital age.

EPRS policy podcast - Taxing the digital economy: New developments and the way forward

In the first two decades of the 21st century, with new risks and opportunities arising owing to the twin digital and green transformations there is an emerging debate, rethinking economic growth theories with more focus on inclusion and combatting inequality, and exploring the relevance of traditional welfare state models. This debate has intensified in the wake of the 2008 crisis, and now also as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and crisis. The social economy can play a central role in this context.

EPRS policy podcast - What future for the social economy?

The European Union produces more than&nbsp;2.2 billion tonnes of waste every year. It is currently updating its&nbsp;legislation on waste management&nbsp;to promote a shift to a more sustainable model known as the circular economy.

The circular economy is a&nbsp;model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the&nbsp;life cycle of products is extended.

In March 2020, the European Commission presented the circular economy action plan,&nbsp;&nbsp;which aims to promote more sustainable product design, reduce waste and empower consumers, for example by creating aright to repair). There is a focus on resource intensive sectors, such as&nbsp;electronics and ICT,&nbsp;plastics,&nbsp;textiles&nbsp;and construction.

In February 2021, the Parliament adopted a resolution on the&nbsp;new circular economy action plan&nbsp;demanding additional measures to achieve a carbon-neutral, environmentally sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050, including tighter recycling rules and&nbsp;binding targets for materials use and consumption&nbsp;by 2030.

In March 2022, the Commission released the&nbsp;first package of measures&nbsp;to speed up the transition towards a circular economy, as part of the circular economy action plan. The proposals include boosting sustainable products, empowering consumers for the green transition, reviewing construction product regulation, and creating a strategy on sustainable textiles.

In November 2022, the Commission proposed&nbsp;new EU-wide rules on packaging. It aims to reduce packaging waste and improve packaging design, with for example clear labelling to promote reuse and recycling; and calls for a transition to bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics.

Circular economy

&nbsp;Arelatively recent phenomenon, the collaborative economy has become to the centre of the interest&nbsp;a decade in some areas of activities, such as car-sharing or short-term lets. Although it is now a well-known term – with alternative names from the 'sharing' to 'gig' to 'peer-to-peer' economy – it remains difficult to grasp precisely, beyond the central feature that potential consumers and providers are connected via a digital platform that matches demand and supply, providing cheap access to information on a very large scale.

These 'match-makers' make it possible for non-professional providers to offer goods and servicesin a wide range of activities, generating value and with the potential for further development.

The success of collaborative platforms has raised concerns regarding workers’ rights and unfair advantages these firms might enjoy over traditional companies that are bound by stricter legal regulations. Taxation issues in the collaborative economy increasingly highlight the need for an in-depth look into taxation, focusing on the link between the value created and tax, and the need for a level playing field for incumbent business facing competition from these new entrants to the market.

See more on this topic by visiting our package&nbsp; for the 8th parliamentary term.

Collaborative economy

Unlike the traditional linear economic model based on a 'take-make-consume-throw away' pattern, a circular economy is based on reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling, in an (almost) closed loop.

Although waste management in the European Union (EU) has improved considerably in the past decades, almost a third of municipal waste is still landfilled and less than half is recycled or composted, with wide variations between Member States. Improving waste management could deliver positive effects for the environment, climate, human health and the economy. As part of a shift in EU policy towards a circular economy, the European Commission made four legislative proposals introducing new waste-management targets regarding reuse, recycling and landfilling. The proposals also strengthen provisions on waste prevention and extended producer responsibility, and streamline definitions, reporting obligations and calculation methods for targets.

Circular economy - 8th parliamentary term

The collaborative economy is based on the sharing of human and physical resources like creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services. 

A 2016 Eurobarometer showed that 17% of European consumers have used services provided by the collaborative economy, and 52% are aware of the services offered. Peer-to-peer accommodation is the largest collaborative economy sector on the basis of generated commerce, while peer-to-peer transportation is the largest measured by platform revenue.

Collaborative economy - 8th parliamentary term

EP Plenary session - Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services

Press conference by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, EC Executive Vice-President for Economy and Nicolas SCHMIT Commissioner for jobs and social rights on developing social economy framework conditions

EC read out by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, EC Executive Vice-President for Economy and Mairead MCGUINNESS, Commissioner  for financial services on a new sustainable finance framework

Press conference by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, EC Executive Vice-President, Paolo GENTILONI, Commissioner for Economy and Nicolas SCHIMIT, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights on the Autumn 2023 European

Press conference by Kadri SIMSON, Commissioner for Energy on the proposal for a market correction mechanism to protect citizens and the economy against excessive gas prices

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Circular economy

Collaborative economy

Circular economy - 8th parliamentary term

Collaborative economy - 8th parliamentary term

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