Circular economy in the policies of the European Union in terms of the Republican concept

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the EU law on the circular economy (CE) in the context of the key principles of republicanism, related to civic engagement. The text presents the principles of CE in EU regulations and the conditions for the primacy of EU law over national law. An analysis of the impact of pro-environmental directives in the EU on national law was also carried out, particularly in the context of the core principles of republicanism. By relating the main assumptions of republicanism to this process, three main problems accompanying the community's pro-environmental policy were identified: the expansion of EU law - citizens' concern for the environment - the republican concept of freedom. Taking these elements into account can have a key impact on the success of the EU's CE policy. The article also benefited from an analysis of the foundational data, especially primary (treaties) and secondary (directives and regulations) EU sources. In addition, pilot quantitative surveys conducted by the author were used.