On 23 December 2025, the European Commission published a new package of short-term measures to boost plastics circularity and support the plastic sector. This initiative is long-awaited by the industry and is a result of a close dialogue with the European Commission over the past year (link to more information CEO Andreas Malmberg meet with EU Commissioner in Brussels; High level meeting with Commissioner Roswall)

The overall goal with the measures is to ensure that European recyclers can play their role in scaling up recycling under conditions of regulatory certainty and a level playing field, and seek to stimulate innovation and investment across the plastics value chain.

As highlighted by the European Commission - circular solutions within the plastics value chain are important for EU, both to meet it´s environmental objectives and to process its own growing volume of plastic waste as a result of the export ban to non-OECD countries. The circular economy is also a major business opportunity for the EU. This plastics circularity package is a pilot step ahead of the upcoming Circular Economy Act, expected by the end of 2026[1].

What’s included in the Commission’s plastics circularity package?

1) Measures to strengthen fair competition and import controls. 

The Commission is fully committed to protect the European plastics industry from unfair import competition and to ensure a level-playing field. The Commission will therefore improve enforcement and reduce the risk of virgin plastics being placed on the market as “recycled”. Measures include:

• Development of new customs codes to distinguish imports of recycled materials from virgin plastics.
• Trade defence investigations and stricter monitoring of imports via the Import Surveillance Task Force
• Audits of recycling installations outside the EU and food-contact materials in 2026
• Support to national market surveillance authorities
• Upcoming amendments to EU regulations to ensure imported recycled plastics meet EU quality and safety standards.
  
  

2) Measures to create a more integrated market

• End-of-waste criteria for plastics. The Commission has published a draft implementing act with end-of-waste criteria for mechanically recycled plastics. It will help recycled plastics to circulate more easily across all 27 Member States by reducing administrative burden. Public feedback on the draft implementing act is open until 26 January 2026.
• Rules for chemically recycled plastic content. The Commission has developed a draft implementing act on recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles under the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD). It will complement mechanically recycled content with chemical recyclates. The aim is to provide legal certainty for chemical recycling investments in the European Union by proposing the first-ever ‘mass balance allocation rules’. The act has been transmitted to Member States for vote (timing to be confirmed).
  
  

3) Support for investments and innovation

Investment is key to accelerate the circular economy and according to the Commission the bulk of financing will need to come from private sources complemented with public funds and incentives. Actions that the Commission will do to boost investment, innovation, and circularity are for example:

• Develop a pilot under the Competitiveness Coordination Tool focused on Trans-Regional Circularity Hubs. It will secure the availability of EU-sourced secondary raw materials and reduce dependencies on third countries, contributing to the EU’s strategic autonomy.
• Cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and national promotional banks that are members of the Joint Initiative on Circular Economy (JICE), launched in 2019. The aim is to promote a Team Europe approach to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The EIB will in 2026 reinforce its commitment to the Circular Economy by introducing a dedicated Circular Economy Orientation.
• Support research and innovation through Horizon Europe in most major value chains of the plastics sectors, i.e. packaging, construction products and transportation.
• The Innovation Fund will continue to support market introduction of highly innovative solutions. Plastic projects have so far been awarded around EUR 300 million to significantly improving the circularity of plastic products.
  
  

The Commission also calls on Member States to boost investment at national and regional level by making use of the existing possibilities offered for example by the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework, the Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy and the EU General Block Exemption Regulation.

4) Closer cooperation between industry stakeholders, Member States and the Commission

The Commission will relaunch and strengthen the Circular Plastics Alliance (the CPA) that brings together key industry stakeholders from across the plastics value chain. The CPA will serve as a robust platform to identify shared priority actions.

5) Evaluation of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD)

A public consultation and call for evidence to evaluate the SUPD is open until 17 March 2026.

What happens next

Some actions are already underway (notably the end-of-waste criteria and rules for chemically recycled plastic content), while other measures will be defined further through 2026. Trioworld will together with our European organisations continue monitoring developments and will share updates as more implementation details and timelines are confirmed.

We published this update to help our customers stay ahead of EU policy changes that can impact recycled-content requirements, material availability, compliance expectations, and the overall competitiveness of circular plastics across the value chain.

[1] European Comissions Circular Economy Act