The use of our resources in an efficient way is an important priority for the EPP Group which welcomes today's publication by the European Commission of the so-called Circular Economy Package.

It is - for many reasons - important that we use our resources in an efficient way.

"It goes without saying that we cannot waste the resources of our children and grandchildren. And we know that efficiency in the way we use our resources is key for growth, employment and climate protection. I therefore welcome the Commission's initiative, but we have to carefully check the details", said Peter Liese MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Environment Committee of the European Parliament, following the publication of the Circular Economy Package.

The Circular Economy is not a new idea but a restatement of the thinking that we should ease the use of the earth's scarce resources and manage waste and recycling better. But the concrete initiatives to follow should also provide business opportunities. In fact, the Circular Economy will only work if it goes hand-in-hand with a market-based approach and if it creates incentives for citizens and companies alike.

"Resource efficiency is a very important task for our European industry. I therefore welcome the Commission's action plan as it addresses the question of production, consumption and therefore the rest of the cycle", said Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP, Member of the Environment Committee. Florenz added that it is not obvious that the waste package presented today is more ambitious than what has previously been proposed. "One could ask the question: much ado about nothing?"

Liese underlined that, seen in the perspective of climate change, landfilling of waste produces methane which is a much stronger greenhouse gas than CO2.

Both MEPs stressed that we need to have ambitious yet realistic goals in the Circular Economy.