European Commission 23 December 2025, COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Accelerating Europe’s transition to a circular economy: a pilot for boosting the circularity of plastics

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This European Commission Communication (COM(2025) 805 final), dated 23 December 2025, sets out a pilot package of short-term measures to accelerate circularity in the EU plastics sector as a precursor to the forthcoming Circular Economy Act proposed for 2026. Key measures include: (i) an implementing act under the Waste Framework Directive establishing Union-wide end-of-waste criteria for mechanically recycled plastics to create a Single Market for recyclates; (ii) harmonised mass balance allocation rules for chemically recycled plastic content under the Single Use Plastics Directive (recycled content targets for PET and beverage bottles); and (iii) trade defence, customs enforcement, and market surveillance measures—including amendment of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastics for food contact—to ensure a level playing field between EU-produced and imported plastics. The Communication further announces the re-launch of the Circular Plastics Alliance, a pilot under the Competitiveness Coordination Tool for Trans-Regional Circularity Hubs, and calls on Member States and private actors to close an estimated EUR 82 billion annual circular economy investment gap.AI