From Concept to Assessment: Evaluating the Circular Economy in the EU and Romania using Eurostat Circularity Indicators

The circular economy has become a central pillar of the European Union’s sustainable development policies; however, the transition from an extensive conceptual framework to rigorous empirical assessment remains uneven across Member States. This study represents a preliminary and diagnostic analysis of Romania’s circular economy performance within the EU, using the Eurostat Circular Economy Monitoring Framework updated in 2023. Rather than providing a definitive ranking, the research examines the capacity and limitations of exhaustive indicator-based assessments in comparative contexts. The research combines a literature review with descriptive and comparative analysis of official statistical data across the five dimensions of the European framework. Findings reveal methodological challenges, including indicator heterogeneity, unequal analytical relevance, and sensitivity to structural differences between Romania and other EU member states. Romania consistently ranks among the lower-performing Member States (Eurostat, 2025), reflecting high resource consumption, low material productivity, limited recycling, and modest integration into secondary raw material markets. However, these results are intended as a diagnostic assessment rather than a definitive evaluation. The study contributes to the literature by providing a systematic assessment of Romania’s circular economy performance within a European comparative context and by highlighting the limitations of approaches based exclusively on exhaustive indicators. The research highlights the need for a selective set of indicators structured according to an input–process–output logic, forming a foundation for constructing composite indicators, cluster-based comparisons, and more coherent, policy-relevant monitoring of circular economy transition.