Last week, the European Commission closed the Call for Evidence and public consultation on the Circular Economy Act. This legislative initiative aims to foster more sustainable production and circular economy business models while strengthening the EU’s competitiveness and resource security. The Act, which is likely to take the shape of a legislative package, is planned by the executive for the third quarter of 2026, according to the recently published Commission Work Programme for next year.
Almost 1000 stakeholders participated in the Call for Evidence, while around 230 stakeholders responded to the public consultation questionnaire. Ecommerce Europe was among the respondents, given the high expectations that this initiative has created in e-commerce players engaging with products’ re-use, refurbishment, repair and recycling. Moreover, the e-commerce sector is driving the discussion on the digitalisation, harmonisation and simplification of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems in the EU.
In this article, Ecommerce Europe summarises its position on the Circular Economy Act as expounded in our feedback to the Call for Evidence as well as our replies to the public consultation questionnaire.
Lack of consideration for re-use and incomplete definition for ‘circular economy’
In our submission to the Call for Evidence, we argue that the existing definitions of ‘circular economy’ in EU law fails to give ‘re-use’ the prominence that it deserves as an activity promoting circularity. A resource that can be re-used as it is, or following preparing for re-use activities, contributes to maintaining the value of products for as long as possible at their highest value. Because of the lack of appropriate coverage of re-use in the definition of circular economy, the role and potential of certain economic activities, business models and underlying resources to contribute to the further uptake of circular solutions are overshadowed.
For this reason, Ecommerce Europe proposes revising the definition of ‘circular economy’ to better account for activities promoting re-use (e.g., recommerce and trading of second-hand products, including refurbishment, empowering sharing economy models, enabling the circulation of spare parts etc.). The new definition should also define the journey of a product (e.g., from product to waste or vice versa) more granularly, notably by distinguishing ‘secondary raw materials’ from waste.
We also encourage the Commission to act on a multi-dimensional basis. For example, it is paramount to address the issue of free circulation of second-hand products, which can be hampered by the blanket application of new product sustainability requirements. Furthermore, product reusability should be promoted by setting workable requirements drawing on factors such as products’ durability and quality, ease of repair and refurbishment, availability of spare parts, market demand for second-hand products, logistics, and regulatory limitations (e.g., bans to sell certain second-hand products, such as bicycle helmets).
Opportunity to digitalise and further harmonise EPR schemes
Ecommerce Europe supports the continued work on the harmonisation of EPR schemes at the EU level, and on all EPR aspects. For instance, we advocate for further harmonisation regarding the scope of EPR schemes, definitions and product categorisation as a way to reduce the administrative burden for companies to comply with EPR requirements.
In parallel, harmonisation can be a tool incentivising the placing on the market of sustainable products at a scale. This is why Ecommerce Europe strongly supports the harmonisation of eco-modulation criteria for EPR fees to ensure that they fulfil their potential.
As a sector driving deeper digital uptake, e-commerce would highly benefit from the development of an online platform to access and register with national EPR schemes, which would contribute greatly to reinforcing the Single Market and EU producers’ competitiveness and resilience. Therefore, Ecommerce Europe widely develops on the ideal features, objectives, and functionalities of a One-Stop Shop for EPR in its paper submitted as part of the public consultation questionnaire.
Additional topics and next steps
In our comments on the Circular Economy Act, we also have suggestions to revise the WEEE Directive so that it better covers for the returns of waste electronical and electrical equipment bought online, as well as to improve the circulation of secondary raw materials, namely thanks to harmonised End-of-Waste (EoW) criteria.
As per the Call for Evidence document, the Commission will proceed with targeted consultations with stakeholders, and organise workshops, targeting in particular SMEs. These consultation activities will provide the basis for a synopsis report that will be published as an annex to the impact assessment. As mentioned above, the Circular Economy Act is scheduled to be published in Q3 2026.