European Economic and Social Committee 27 April 2016, Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Closing the loop — An EU action plan for the circular economy’ (COM(2015) 614 final) — ‘Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste’ (COM(2015) 596 final — 2015/0276 (COD)) — ‘Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste’ (COM(2015) 595 final — 2015/0275 (COD)) — ‘Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste’ (COM(2015) 594 final — 2015/0274 (COD)) — and on the ‘Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, 2006/66/EC on batteries an...

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European Economic and Social Committee opinion on the Commission’s 2015 Circular Economy Package, urging a more ambitious transition from a linear to a circular economy and recommending reinstatement of the 2014 waste-treatment targets where cost-effectively achievable. The Committee advocates mandatory extended producer responsibility schemes, strengthened separate waste collection, lifecycle-based eco-design requirements, measures against planned obsolescence, economic incentives for reuse and repair, and stronger support for workers, SMEs and vulnerable consumers. It further recommends cross-sectoral oversight, monitoring through the European Semester, and quantified milestones for food-waste and plastics-related objectives.AI