The legal and feasibility aspects of a new sustainable development model: the tension between market and environment in the case of the circular economy

This thesis aims to examine how the European Union has progressively integrated the concept of the Circular Economy into its legal framework, focusing on the interplay between environmental objectives and market integration aspirations that the policy entails. Tracing the concept of circularity back to its early theoretical roots, and linking it to sustainable development principles, the thesis examines the implications of introducing circularity objectives across three levels of legislation. In doing so, this thesis also focuses on the tracking of two major legislative processes in the field: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. The thesis identifies recurring tensions around legal bases, subsidiarity, and stakeholder influence, and particularly, focuses on the constitutional dynamics that the passage to a Circular Economy might entail, discussing the tension between the choice of the market legal basis of Article 114 TFEU and the environmental legal basis of Article 192 TFEU. The thesis also discusses how technical requirements, delegated acts, and stakeholder consultations affect the final legislation, at times potentially changing the scope of the legislation reflecting the input from stakeholders in the field. Finally, this thesis concludes with a perspective on the future discussing what the forthcoming Circular Economy Act might look like. Identifying and addressing the tension between market and environment, the thesis ultimately concludes that the success of new circular practices within the EU will be decided on the balance struck between economic harmonization and robust environmental protection.