The BDE sees the announcements made by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address as a positive signal.

In a statement, the BDE Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water, and Recycling Industry expressly welcomes von der Leyen's emphasis on the circular economy as a prerequisite for Europe's industrial leadership in green technology and her announcement that she will press ahead with the planned Circular Economy Act (CEA). A genuine circular economy ensures raw material security, value creation, and resilience. The association therefore believes that the EU should make rapid progress on the CEA and create lead markets for circular products. The BDE also fully supports von der Leyen's statement that she will “stay the course” on the Green Deal and climate targets. “Recycling makes an indispensable contribution to achieving the climate targets of the Green Deal. Investing in the circular economy saves CO2, reduces dependencies, and strengthens Europe's competitiveness,” emphasizes BDE President Anja Siegesmund.
 
The BDE also strongly supports von der Leyen's announcement that she intends to protect European industry more effectively against unfair competition in the future, as well as her announcement that she will introduce a “Made in Europe” label for public procurement. The BDE considers this to be a decisive lever for significantly increasing demand for European recycled raw materials and circular products. In this regard, the BDE also refers to an emergency program for the German government's national circular economy strategy (NKWS) presented jointly with the VBS. European regulations and national measures should go hand in hand to make the circular economy a location factor.

 
“Our appeal to the European Commission is: make the circular economy a core element of the European competition and innovation framework. Europe must not allow itself to be left behind in the global race for resources, technologies, and markets,” Siegesmund concluded.

 
Further information: External link to the European Union website, where Ursula von der Leyen's entire speech is available for download
 

Sources:

• Press releases BDE, European Commission (10.9.2025)
• Photo: © EP / Fred Marveaux