EU Commission – Work Programme published

Yesterday the European Commission has published the Commission Work Programme for 2020. Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič presented it this morning at the plenary session of the European Parliament. The Work Programme includes new proposals to be put forward in 2020, as well as the proposals to be revised, the pending priority proposals and the withdrawn proposals.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: 'This Commission is committed to tackle our generational challenges such as climate change, digitisation and migration. We are committed to deliver on the European Green Deal and to improve chances for European citizens and businesses in the digital transformation. This Work Programme will help building a Union that strives for more.'

For the bio-waste sector the new policy objectives related to the European Green Deal are of upmost importance. The European Green Deal was published in December 2019 (see ECN E_Bulletin 13_2019) and the European Parliament has adopted a Resolution on the European Green Deal on 15 January 2020.

The Commission will propose a European climate law to enshrine the 2050 carbon neutrality objective into legislation. In addition, the Commission will present initiatives to tackle the loss of biodiversity and – through a ‘Farm to Fork' Strategy – support farmers in providing high quality, affordable and safe food in a more sustainable way. In relation to the objective ‘Sustainable production and consumption’ the Commission will publish a New Circular Economy Action Plan (see ECN’s feedback on the Roadmap below).

The Commission Work Programme 2020 can be accessed here.
The factsheet on the New Policy Objectives can be downloaded here.