{"id":120332,"date":"2026-06-18T12:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=120332"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:35:16","slug":"160-environmental-and-health-groups-respond-to-last-minute-attempt-by-coca-cola-mcdonalds-and-others-to-reopen-eu-packaging-law-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/new-eu-law-makes-cars-more-circular\/","title":{"rendered":"New EU law makes cars more circular, but industry pressure wins out on SUV size"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>EB and DUH<\/span> welcome new EU law on vehicles, <\/span>but<\/span>\u00a0warn of critical gaps<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Today, the European Parliament gave the final greenlight to new rules to make the automotive sector more circular, but the deal falls short of its promise, warn the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u202fnew EU law on vehicles consolidates the outdated End-of-Life Vehicles Directive and the 3R Type-Approval Directive into a single Regulation on Circularity Requirements on Vehicle Design and on the Management of End-of-Life Vehicles. The EEB and DUH welcome it as an important step towards strengthening the EU single market, boosting circularity and reducing the environmental impacts of cars from design to end-of-life treatment. However, they warn that critical gaps remain [1] and national implementation will be crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Regulation\u00a0introduces promising tools,\u00a0including a Circularity Vehicle Passport, an EU-wide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, minimum recycled content requirements, and\u00a0better\u00a0rules on\u00a0the reuse of\u00a0parts and\u00a0on\u00a0the collection and treatment\u00a0of vehicles. If implemented with genuine ambition, these measures could help drive\u00a0decarbonisation and\u00a0circularity,\u00a0and\u00a0hold producers more accountable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the new law sidesteps the sector\u2019s most glaring problem: cars are getting bigger and more numerous, driving up resource consumption and environmental damage. It also prioritises recycling over more effective strategies such as durability, reuse, and repair. And it leaves producers off the hook for used vehicles exported outside the EU. This despite the historic concerns with transparency and accountability in the sector [2], and repeated calls from environmental NGOs, consumer organisations and industry alike [3].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fynn<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Hauschke<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, Senior Policy Officer for Circular Economy and Waste at the<\/span>\u00a0EEB<\/span>, said:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Today’s vote\u00a0sends mixed signals.\u00a0Lawmakers\u00a0introduced\u00a0important circular economy\u00a0measures,\u00a0but\u00a0ultimately bowed\u00a0to industry pressure. They\u00a0backed\u00a0away from making manufacturers truly responsible for the vehicles they\u00a0put\u00a0on the\u00a0road,\u00a0and\u00a0turned a blind eye to the industry\u2019s continued trend towards ever-larger, heavier\u00a0SUVs and more resource-hungry cars. They also watered down some of the\u00a0most transformative provisions, particularly on recycled plastics.\u00a0This is a missed opportunity to put the automotive sector on a genuinely circular path.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barbara Metz<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, Executive Director at DUH<\/span>, said:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe anti-recycling cartel uncovered by the Commission last year shows that producers are not taking resource protection and circular economy\u00a0<\/span>seriously<\/span>\u00a0enough<\/span>.\u202f<\/span>We welcome that the<\/span>\u00a0new<\/span>\u00a0Vehicle Regulation\u00a0<\/span>sets out clear<\/span>er<\/span>\u00a0rules<\/span>. However,\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span>\u00a0provides\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ember\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>tates with considerable leeway. They must ensure that producers provide sufficient funding for treatment infrastructure.<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>Other important challenges will be the prevention of illegal vehicle dismantling<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and the promotion of reused spare parts.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fol<\/span>l<\/span>o<\/span>wing\u00a0<\/span>formal approval\u00a0<\/span>by both\u00a0<\/span>the European Parliament and the Council<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Regulation will<\/span>\u00a0be published in the Official Journal of the European\u00a0<\/span>Union<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0enter into force twenty days\u00a0<\/span>later.<\/span>\u00a0Member States will then have<\/span>\u00a0two years\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>begin\u00a0<\/span>apply<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0it<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>However, k<\/span>ey measures\u00a0<\/span>carry\u00a0<\/span>long transitional periods<\/span>, e.g., six years for <\/span>obligations on recycled<\/span>\u00a0plastic<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>content<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and the Digital Circularity Vehicle Passport.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Notes to the editor<\/strong><\/h5>\n

[1] <\/span>Press release<\/span><\/a>: EU\u2019s new vehicle regulation misses the turn toward a circular automotive sector (December 2025)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] <\/span>Press release<\/span><\/a>: Car recycling cartel exposed, NGOs demand accountability and transparency (April 2025)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] <\/span>Joint statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by environmental organisations, the insurance sector, consumer organisations, the automotive aftermarket, and the repair community concerning repair and repair-related design aspects (2025)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joint statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by glass producers, non-ferrous metal industry, and environmental organisations\u00a0regarding\u00a0measures to support the reuse of components and high-quality recycling of materials from end-of-life vehicles (2025)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joint statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by environmental organisations, think tanks, and recycling industry to boost the use of recycled steel in the automotive sector (2025)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joint statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by waste management and recycling industries, automotive suppliers, and environmental organisations in support of ambitious recycled content targets for plastics (2024)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0EEB and DUH welcome new EU law on vehicles, but\u00a0warn of critical gaps\u00a0 Today, the European Parliament gave the final greenlight to new rules to make [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":120333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,138,139,140],"tags":[961,976,1007,1008],"class_list":["post-120332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resource-efficiency","category-circular-economy","category-waste-recycling","category-product-policy","tag-automotive","tag-end-of-life-vehicles","tag-cars","tag-vehicle-design"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pexels-kelly-4320433.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}