Greetings from Brussels, where we drove into the weekend with a new End-of-Life Vehicles regulation. The circular economy agenda is moving fast, with a call for European solutions to battery fires, PET bottle recycled-content rules, and Ireland taking the wheel of the Council Presidency.
Council adopts circularity rules for vehicles: On 29 June, the Council formally adopted the regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and end-of-life vehicle management.
Addressing burning questions at the end of life of batteries: Waste management operators call for European solutions following a parliamentary breakfast organised by BDE and Denuo at the European Parliament on 30 June, which included policymakers, the Commission, industry and fire services to discuss the growing impact of lithium-ion battery fires on waste collection and treatment facilities.
New research: lithium battery mis-sorting raises fire risk: On 5 June, VÖEB reported research by the University of Leoben showing a 300% increase over 10 years in lithium batteries wrongly disposed of in residual waste, equivalent to around 70 batteries per collection vehicle.
Commission publishes PET bottle recycled-content rules: On 30 June, the Commission adopted new rules and published the implementing decision setting the methodology for calculating, verifying and reporting recycled content in single-use PET beverage bottles.
ETS reform comes into focus On July 2, a European Parliament briefing outlined the role of free allocation in the EU ETS.
Council agrees partial position on EU budget performance rules: On 26 June, the Council agreed its partial negotiating position on the performance framework regulation for the 2028-2034 EU budget.
Member States call for LIFE funding continuity: On 25 June, at the Environment Council public session, 12 Member States supported a call to preserve LIFE programme funding in the next EU budget, initiated by Spain with Luxembourg, Austria and Italy and backed by Bulgaria, Portugal, Hungary, Lithuania, Greece, Belgium, Estonia and France.
Council and Parliament agree ECHA reform: On 30 June, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a standalone legal framework for the European Chemicals Agency.
Irish Presidency sets environment and energy agenda: On 25 June, the Irish Presidency circulated indicative Council agendas for the second half of 2026, scheduling ETS discussions in October and December, a December policy debate on the Circular Economy Act and climate resilience framework, and General Affairs Council work on MFF and simplification.
Commission defends textiles ecodesign work in Parliament: On 2 July, the Commission and its Joint Research Centre presented progress on the preparatory study for the future Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation delegated act on textiles during an ENVI committee meeting.
Single Market barriers remain under scrutiny: On 25 June, the Commission updated IMCO on work to address the ‘Terrible Ten’ barriers to the free movement of goods and services.
Fifteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention: On 23–26 June, the Basel Convention OEWG-15 met in Geneva and adopted 19 decisions to prepare intersessional work for COP-18 in 2027.
Volvic greenwashing ruling clarifies packaging claims: On 23 June, according to CLCV, the Paris judicial court ruled that several Volvic claims on plastic bottles, including ‘carbon neutral’, ‘100% recycled’ and ‘100% recyclable’, constituted misleading commercial practices. Le Monde reported that Volvic was ordered to pay €75,000, publish the judgment for six months and that Danone planned to appeal.
Circularity Gap Report adds value-loss metric: In April 2026, Circle Economy and Deloitte Netherlands’ Circularity Gap Report 2026 introduced the Value Gap as a metric for avoidable value lost through inefficient material use, premature obsolescence, asset deterioration and partially unpriced externalities.
Procurement toolbox highlights Scope 3 leverage: On 2 July, Eunomia’s Procurement Decarbonisation Toolbox set out practical steps for public bodies seeking to embed decarbonisation into procurement and commissioning.
Biomethane capacity rises but access barriers remain: On 1 July, the European Biogas Association and Gas Infrastructure Europe published the European Biomethane Map and Biomethane Investment Outlook, reporting 8.2 bcm/year of installed capacity and a 17% annual increase.
