In a strong show of unity, ten industrial leaders of the Platform for Electromobility have come together at the start of this political year to deliver a single, clear message to European lawmakers: “let’s not change the course.”

The uncertainty surrounding recently agreed climate and industrial legislation – most notably the CO₂ Standards for cars and vans – poses a direct threat to investment in Europe. Without regulatory stability, the essential investments, innovations, and workforce upskilling in key sectors such as batteries are being delayed or put on hold. Meanwhile, global car sales figures confirm that the rest of the world is moving forward at speed. Europe cannot afford to be left behind or trapped in technological limbo.

This uncertainty also affects the wider ecosystem necessary for the transition: from charging networks and power grid upgrades to the development of a robust recycling value chain. Beyond road transport, urban and collective transport industries and stakeholders are also needs stability to development long-term projects and infrastructures.

Disruptions to these sectors would only further delay Europe’s transition to clean mobility.

Regulatory stability is the rallying call of clean industries of this 2025 “rentrée”. Now is the moment for Europe to stay the course, safeguard its industrial competitiveness, and secure the long-term benefits of the transition for its workers, industries, and citizens.

In a short video, Kinga Timaru-Kast highlights the strategic importance of strengthening recycling for Europe’s economy. She outlines immediate policy actions to support a sustainable and competitive EV recycling value chain, and frames these efforts within the longer-term perspective of the upcoming Circular Economy Act.

“Fostering a recycling ecosystem in the European e-mobility value chain is crucial for enhancing the region’s strategic autonomy. Currently, Europe relies heavily on third-country production and imports of critical materials and components essential for the production of electromobility solutions.

By creating conditions for a strong recycling ecosystem, Europe can reduce this dependency — ensuring a more resilient supply chain while also reducing emissions associated with the use of primary materials. Recycling also fosters innovation, as businesses invest in new technologies and processes, driving economic growth and creating future-oriented jobs.

With numerous legislative low-hanging fruits up for grabs, the EU can set today the conditions to support the development of a homegrown recycling industry. Regulatory stability is the bottom-line condition for establishing investments in the industry. Safeguarding the clear, long-term policies already agreed by co-legislators will provide the necessary certainty for businesses to innovate and to invest in recycling capacities.

Existing feedstock uncertainty is further increased through material leakage — when shipment rules to destinations outside the EU can be differently interpreted, and not ambitiously implemented and controlled at the Member State level.

Today’s challenges of European recyclers cannot be adequately tackled in the short term. We need to effectively use the toolkit of legislations already in the hands of European policymakers.

Our recommendations focus on optimizing existing legislations, such as:

• the Batteries Regulation,

• the Waste Shipment Regulation, and

• the proposed End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation.

This can be achieved by making targeted improvements, providing clarifications where needed, and by ambitiously implementing and enforcing the requirements.

While defining our recommendations for the upcoming Circular Economy Act, we will continue highlighting the need to ensure that end-of-life EVs and batteries are treated and processed here in Europe. We need to create a sustainable loop for future EV and battery production on the continent.”