Announced by the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen during the World Circular Economy Forum 2024, the EU Circular Economy Resource Centre embodies the EU’s commitment to advancing circularity on a global scale and facilitating the transition towards sustainable, climate-neutral societies.

The four-year project will mobilise EU circular economy know-how, policies and standards, technologies, business models and practices, in order to promote learning and exchanges with partners in the Neighbourhood, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The European Commission has allocated EUR 15 million to it.

Structure:

• A Circular Economy Knowledge Lab that documents and consolidates EU circular economy know-how from partner countries and makes it available to partner country stakeholders through a knowledge platform and helpdesk, dialogue and exchange of experiences, good practices, lessons learnt and innovative approaches.
• A Circular Economy Policy Lab offering assistance on policy and regulatory matters through technical assistance, exchange of best practices and acceleration programmes to inspire policy and regulatory development.
• A Circular Economy Business Lab, helping partner country businesses to go circular through peer-to-peer exchanges, circular economy market outlooks and benchmarking assessments. It will also showcase innovative circular solutions and facilitate matchmaking with EU companies, with a focus on women and young entrepreneurs.

The European Commission has been designing this project with several partners, including the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the Belgian Development Agency ENABEL. Implementation is due to start before the end of 2024.