Ursula von der Leyen, freshly re-elected President of the European Commission, presented her political guidelines for the next European Commission 2024−2029 on 18 July. 

The top priority is competitiveness: the EU must do its utmost to ensure that its single market is strong, efficient and business-friendly. The Union must also take steps to remedy strategic vulnerabilities, minimising dependencies on third countries. A new Clean Industrial Deal will work to deliver the conditions for businesses to meet the EU's goals, including decarbonisation, a must given that the climate crisis is getting worse fast. That is going to require access to cheap, sustainable and secure energy supplies and raw materials.

The circular economy is part of the answer to all of these issues. It will help the EU cover its needs in terms of raw materials, critical and otherwise. The political guidelines call for a more circular and resilient economy, where a new Circular Economy Act will contribute to creating market demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste.

The circular economy will be a political priority in the next European Commission mandate: let's take this momentum and run with it.