« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Agenda of the EU Environment Council, 16 December 2025

16 December 2025
Europe’s environment 2030

EU environment ministers are expected to approve conclusions on ‘Europe’s Environment – Building a more circular and resilient Europe’.

Building on the 2024 mid-term review of the 8th environment action programme (8EAP) and the latest report on the state of the European environment, published by the European Environment Agency, ministers are expected to stress the urgency of advancing both climate resilience and the transition to a circular economy, recognising the interconnectedness of both issues in addressing climate and environmental challenges such as pollution, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity.

EU bioeconomy strategy

Ministers will also exchange views on the EU bioeconomy strategy, as recently presented by the European Commission.

With a value of up to €2.7 trillion in 2023 and employing over 17 million people across the EU, the bioeconomy is key to Europe’s transition to a clean and competitive economy and its strategic autonomy. The strategy aims to unlock the potential of the bioeconomy by leveraging renewable biological resources from land and sea, scaling up bio-based innovation and reducing dependency on fossil imports.

‘Bioeconomy’ refers to the use of renewable biological resources (biomass) from land and sea, such as crops, forest products, fish, animals and micro-organisms, to produce food, materials and energy.

Other business

The Danish presidency, together with the Commission, will report on five recent international meetings:

  • the sixth conference of the parties (COP 6) to the Minamata convention on mercury (Geneva, Switzerland, 3–7 November)
  • the 37th meeting of the parties (MOP37) to the Montreal protocol (Nairobi, Kenya, 3-7 November)
  • the 30th conference of the parties (COP 30) to the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) (Belém, Brazil, 10–21 November)
  • the eight meeting of the parties (MOP 8) to the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (Geneva, Switzerland, 17–21 November)
  • the 20th conference of the parties (CITES CoP 20) to the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 24 November – 5 December)
  • the seventh session of the UN environment assembly (UNEA-7) (Nairobi, Kenya, 8–12 December)

Ministers will also hear from the Commission on the EU’s mission on climate-neutral and smart cities and on adaptation to climate change, and on its recently published proposal for an amending decision on the market stability reserve for the buildings, road transport and additional sectors.

Commissioner for environment, Jessika Roswall, will present her annual report on simplification, implementation and enforcement. Under this point, the Commission will also present the recent environmental simplification package (Omnibus VIII).

Poland will inform ministers on the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and how it can affect technical, non-commercial electricity imports from Ukraine to the EU member states.

Belgium will hold an information point on strengthening the market surveillance and product compliance.

Ministers will also hear from France on the urgent need for action at European level on the environmental and economic effects of ultra-fast fashion.

Austria, supported by Germany, will brief ministers on the deposit system for lithium-ion batteries.

Cyprus will present its work programme as incoming presidency of the Council.

Over lunch, ministers will hold an informal discussion on the environmental investments for achieving environmental targets.

Practical information
  • Meeting n°4146
  • Location: Brussels
Preparatory documents

Source – EU Council

 

Forward to your friends

Details

Venue

Organizer