Country profiles on Circular Economy in Europe (2024)

ETC/CE Reports 2024/9: Circular economy country profiles (2024)

A set of 29 country profiles that summarise policies and initiatives in the area of circular economy.

Publication date: November 2024

Prepared by:
Veronique Van Hoof, Andrea Van Acker, Evelien Dils, Susanna Paleari, Bettina-Bahn Walkowiak, Jens Günther, Petr Bazil, Marton Boraros, Emanuele di Francesco (ETC/CE) and Peder Jensen (EEA).

The European Commission requested the EEA to produce EU country profiles that offer an updated view of the following elements:

• what circular economy policies are being implemented at a national level with a particular focus on elements that go beyond EU mandatory elements, and
• what are best practices with a focus on policy innovation.

With the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2020) "the Commission [..] encourages Member States to adopt or update their national circular economy strategies, plans and measures in the light of its ambition".

These country profiles originate in the work leading to the EEA More from less report (2016)[1], that presented an overview of approaches to material resource efficiency and to circular economy in thirty-two European countries. The More from Less report was followed by the 2019 EEA Report ‘Resource efficiency and the circular economy in Europe 2019 – even more from less: An overview of the policies, approaches and targets of 32 European countries’[2]. It presented an updated and extended assessment of approaches and identified trends, similarities and new directions taken by countries in the connected policy areas of resource efficiency and the circular economy. These reports, comprising a compilation of extensive survey responses from countries, were accompanied by 32 country profiles.

In the second quarter of 2022 a new survey with questions and guidelines was launched. Based on information reported by the Eionet network, in particular, the Eionet Group on Circular Economy and Resource Use, and after review and editing by the European Topic Centre on Circular economy and resource use (ETC CE), the 30 2022 CE country profiles[3] were published alongside the EEA report ‘Circular Economy policy innovation and good practice in Member States’[4] (2022).

These 2024 CE country profiles are an update of the 2022 ones and based on the responses of 29 countries to the survey questions and guidelines that were launched in March 2024. The information in the countries’ responses was again reviewed and edited by the European Topic Centre on Circular economy and resource use. A selection of Eurostat data was made to further complement these country profiles.

The main objectives of these assessments and its updates are to:

• stimulate exchange of information and share good practice examples among country experts;
• support policymakers in Eionet countries, the European institutions and international organisations by providing an updated catalogue of circular economy actions being undertaken in European countries.

The circular economy country profiles are based on information reported by the Eionet network and, in particular, the Eionet Group members on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy in the second quarter of 2024. Proposals for the further development or amendment of policies represent the view of the reporting country. The information was reviewed and edited by the European Topic Centre on Circular economy and resource use. A selection of Eurostat data was made to further complement this country profile.

The information is current as of September 2024, when members of Eionet verified the content of this profile.

[1] More from less — material resource efficiency in Europe — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)

[2] Resource efficiency and the circular economy in Europe 2019 — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)

[3] Country profiles on Circular Economy in Europe — Eionet Portal (europa.eu)

[4] draft-report-for-dg-env_final.pdf (europa.eu)

Download the good practices report:

Circular Economy policy innovation and good practice in Europe

Download country profiles: