Update on EU Policies – The New Europe: What the Brussels landscape is likely to look like.

Aktuálne informácie o zámeroch EÚ – The New Europe: Predstavy Bruselu, ako by mohla Európa vyzerať.

As for my contribution, I will attempt to look at the composition of the new European Parliament, which will be elected in June; examine the new Commissioners and their policy declarations and the potential impact this will have on policies affecting the waste and resource sector 2024-2028.

Finally, I will look at the policy ambitions already enshrined in law during the last administration and which countries will have to transfer into national legislation now, eg on packaging waste and the waste framework directive.

David Newman lived in Europe and the Middle East until 2016 when he returned to the UK.

He was the Executive Director of Greenpeace Italy 1994-1997 after many years as a volunteer; from 1999 until 2014 he led the Italian composting and biogas association CIC and he led the Italian Bioplastics Association from 2011 to 2015.  As a result of his team’s work, Italy is world leader in biowaste collections and treatment and represents the largest global market for bioplastics.

From 2012 to 2016 he was President of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). During this time (2012-13) he was personal advisor to the Italian Minister of Environment, Andrea Orlando.

He was President of the World Biogas Association from November 2016 to July 2022.

David founded and was Managing Director of the Bio Based and Biodegradable Industries Association UK  from 2015 (and retired from this in November 2023) which works to promote the bioeconomy in the UK.   He founded and leads the European Bioeconomy Bureau promoting policies in favour of soil health and the bioeconomy in Brussels and develops projects for funding applications under Horizon and CBE JU grants.

The European Bioeconomy Bureau (EBB) is a Non Governmental Organisation registered in Belgium (an ASBL) co-founded by David Newman and Roberto Ferrigno in 2023. Both have worked in the bioeconomy sectors for over 25 years, with associations and industrial organisations representing those producing materials and energy from renewable, waste and plant-based sources. Both have long experience in European policy development as well as practical experience with industrial partners.

We aim to support those promoting the bioeconomy in Europe through research leading to technological change as well as policy instruments which lead to market and social change. We believe the bioeconomy can be an effective tool to reducing the impact of certain industrial processes and become an economically viable pathway to “doing more with less”.