Frenz as expert on Circular Economy at the National People's Congress of China

Prof. Frenz was interviewed by the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress on 21.1.2021 for an upcoming legislation on Circular Economy. He presented the core legal contents of the EU Circular Economy Strategy and discussed them in detail with the Chinese parliamentarians in order to adapt them to the Chinese circumstances. In particular, the EU plastic tax and other incentives to reduce plastic waste were discussed. There were intensive discussions on the regulatory level and the concrete content of these instruments. Earlier, on 18 January 2021, Frenz had also presented the extended producer responsibility as it is now anchored in the amendment to the Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz 2020 with the Shanghai municipal government at a virtual conference. The Chinese side wanted to know more details, especially on how to-go cups can be financially burdened and thus be avoided. This also involved questions of competence and regulatory techniques. Finally, Frenz was also able to contribute his experience from the National People's Congress hearing of December 2017 to an exchange of experiences that the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development held with representatives of its legal dialogue programme with the People's Republic of China on 29 January 2021. In addition to Frenz, the former Federal Constitutional Court Judge Dieter Grimm was one of the speakers.