European Commission presents new action plan on Critical Raw Materials

The European Commission has presented a new action plan on critical raw materials. The plan will work to make Europe's raw materials supply more secure and sustainable. 

The plan looks at current and future challenges facing the sector and proposes actions to reduce Europe's dependency on third countries while improving efficiency and circularity. The actions will foster Europe's transition towards a green and digital economy and emphasise the EU's resilience and strategic autonomy. 

The plan aims to:

• Develop resilient value chains for EU industrial ecosystems
• Reduce dependency on primary critical raw materials through circular use of re-sources, sustainable products and innovation
• Stregnthen domestic sourcing of raw materials in the EU
• Diversify sourcing from third countries and remove distortions to international trade, fully respecting the EU's international obligations. 

To kick off the action plan the Commission will soon establish a European Raw Materials Alliance, bringing together stakeholders to focus on pressing subjects. In addition the Commission will work with Member States and regions to identify mining and procesing projects in the EU that can be operational by 2025. There will also be a special focus on expertise and skills in the sector and in regions in transition.  

In addition to the action plan the Commission has today also published the 2020 list of critical raw materials and a foresight study on critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors from the 2030 and 2050 perspective. 

Read more here.