'Closing the circle and opening conversation on circular economy' by Frans Timmermans, Jyrki Katainen, Elżbieta Bieńkowska and Karmenu Vella - Main contents

Europe is skills rich and resource poor. In business, as in life, we should play to our strengths and protect our weak spots and yet, today, the EU imports six times more materials and natural resources than it exports. We consume renewable resources 50% faster than they can be replaced, a rate which implies both unsustainable pressure on our environment and a threat for the European industry. The global middle class is set to increase by 4 billion people by 2035.

One does not need much imagination to see what this would mean for natural resource use, raw materials prices, waste production and greenhouse gas emissions.

Today already, 500 kilos of waste a second- that is the average quantity of waste produced in a year by a European citizen- end up in our seas, most of it plastic. This is not only an environmental challenge. This is not only a huge cost for sectors such as tourism, or fisheries. This is also a complete economic waste as this litter could be instead reused, recycled, or used as a precious energy source, reducing our carbon emissions in the process. Trash is cash.

It is time to change course. Europe is famous for its innovation, for its skills, for its ability to solve difficult issues. Above all, it is famous around the globe for sharing its skills and pooling its resources. For 50 years this capacity has made Europe a global economic powerhouse. Today, European companies are the green economy leaders of the world. Together, they capture a third of the global market for green technologies, worth a trillion Euros and expected to double by 2020.

Now it is time to start a European-wide conversation about how best to shift to a more 'circular' economy. We must loosen the grip of the linear 'take, make, dispose' model that has swayed economic thought. We must grow our understanding of a fresh model that strives to preserve and maintain the value of all resources rather than simply consuming them.

This is why a new and ambitious Circular Economy Package will be presented by the European Commission before the end of this year. It will look at our waste policy and beyond, to address the full cycle of the circular economy. It will find the right balance between legislation, market based instruments and other sector specific measures. Building on ambitious EU wide targets for recycling and waste management, we will channel investment funds, foster research and innovation and provide incentives. Circular economy and energy efficiency projects can apply for funding from the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), once agreed.

A public consultation has just been launched. A stakeholders' conference will take place on the 25th of June. We want wide engagement from experts, business interests, civil society and citizen consumers, so that we can present the best possible proposal. This is an opportunity to reinvent our economy and create new competitive advantages for Europe and its industry.

For this to be truly successful, it will require efforts and changes, from the very local level up to the European level, from policymakers, producers, distributors, traders and consumers alike. The public sector - whether it is our cities or the European institutions - can also help the circular economy using green public procurement. A new set of incentives for new business models can help us move from selling products to selling performance.

The European Commission will focus on measures where 'Europe' has an added value and impact. To help keep that focus we need to be guided by your voice.

Creating and securing new jobs is a primary concern. In a circular economy, where we care for products through repair, maintenance, upgrading and remanufacturing is far more labour-intensive than mining and manufacturing in highly automated facilities. This can directly create a lot of new jobs across the EU. Indirectly, having access to cheap, low carbon and high quality recycled resources can reduce our dependence on imported raw materials, and contribute further to jobs, growth and the re- industrialisation of Europe.

Making the transition towards a circular economy happen will help build a new generation of European innovators from the shop floor to the boardroom. Exporting clean products, technologies and services around the globe, while creating sustainable jobs at home, can become the European norm.

The circular economy is about transforming the whole economy, fully in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals we hope to agree towards the end of this year. It directly addresses climate change and contributes to a reduction in the use of energy in line with our Energy Union Strategy.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the current 'useful' life of physical products is only 4 years, after which only 40% of all materials are re-used or recycled, at only 3% of their original value. We need new material standards, secondary material markets and an upgraded recycling system. Products should be designed to be durable, shared, re-used, repaired and recycled.

Only 40% of materials in the EU28's municipal solid waste system are recycled, 25% incinerated with energy recovery and the rest goes to landfills. Even materials such as PET, steel, paper, deemed to be recycling success stories, experience as much as 75% loss of their value from the first time they are used. 33% of food goes to waste along the value chain - even 46% of fruit and vegetables. This needs to change.

We are counting on your input and ideas to make sure that our European strengths - our skill and innovation - can be put to use to create new European jobs, protect the environment, help new European businesses and global markets and put us on the path to a new more 'circular' economy. In short, to live well, within the limits of our planet.

This article was first published in multiple publications across the EU in May 2015