• Supporting the circular economy transition through the Skills Agenda, the forthcoming Action Plan for Social Economy, the Pact for Skills and the European Social Fund Plus
• Supporting the circular economy transition through Cohesion policy funds, the Just Transition Mechanism and urban initiatives

Promising:

• We welcome the Commission's commitments to support the transition through a range of existing and new initiatives, including the Just Transition Mechanism.

Potential issues:

• However, beyond the acknowledgement of potential job impacts, we are missing a clear commitment to ensure a fair balance of access to resources. There are large differences and inequalities within Europe to take into consideration. While large parts of Europe need to reduce their material consumption in absolute terms, some regions need to increase their consumption of certain products and services. For instance, the level of material deprivation (the inability to afford a particular standard of living that is generally considered acceptable) varies from 3% of the Swedish population to 47% of the Bulgarian populationxxviii. The ongoing revisions of the reporting under the EU semester process could be one avenue to take this into account. Country reports are now to include territorial just transition plans, including a roadmap on how and where the EU just transition fund could provide support. Further elements will be added to the reporting in coming semester cyclesxxix. Such elements could include further analysis of the transition challenges in relation also to access to resources or material inequalities.
• In addition, while exporting the EU's environmental footprint through trade cannot be considered sustainable, it also needs to be recognised that trade with the EU plays an important role in the socio-economic development of many countries. There is, however, a need to align trade with circular economy principles, creating opportunities for both the EU and its trade partnersxxx. As part of driving the transition through research and innovation and the EU's global efforts (for instance through the proposed Global Circular Economy Alliance), we would welcome an explicit commitment to support the exploration of potential trade-offs between a circular economy within the planet's boundaries and potential impacts on other regions around the world. A dedicated analysis by IEEP and partners on the trade-related aspects of the CEAP will follow soon.