Implementation Lags: A case study of the European Plastics Strategy
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This data examines time lags between adoption and implementation of four key directives adopted as part of The European Union’s Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. We analyse delays in the European Commission deliverables, as well as delays in national transposition and practical implementation across all member states. The directives examined are Directive 2015/720 on Lightweight plastic bags; Directive 2018/852 amending the PPWD Directive; Directive 2019/883 on port reception facilities; and Directive 2019/904 on Single Use Plastic. The data was retrieved from Eurostat database, European Sources Online (ESO) database, the Publications Office of the European Union, FAOLEX database, and EUR-LEX database, as well as national legislation accessed through the European Legislation Identifier (ELI). Our findings show that over 70% of transpositions were delayed, and that upstream delays in Commission outputs often undermined timely national action. We also identify a trade-off between ambitious policy targets and compliance, where directives with shorter deadlines were implemented more quickly but exhibited higher rates of non-compliance. Contrary to expectations, amending directives were not always implemented faster than new ones. We propose time lags as an empirically tractable and conceptually meaningful metric for policy assessment.
