Strasbourg, 13/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - European raw materials strategy must, the European Parliament says, be based on efficient use, recycling and cooperation with non-EU supplier countries, but not neglect the environment and social concerns.
The report by Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA, Germany) adopted by a wide majority in plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 13 September, calls on the EU to conduct an ambitious innovation strategy, concentrating on resource efficiency and re-use and recycling of raw materials, to ensure the future competiveness and sustainability of the European economy.
As global demand for raw materials, such as iron ore, aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc and also timber and natural rubber, increases with the rise of the emerging economies, supply is lagging. Mining is becoming more and more difficult and with producer countries increasingly imposing export restrictions, prices are rocketing. The EU is heavily dependent on imports for the raw materials used in advanced products, such as catalysers, batteries and other renewable energy technology.
Raw materials strategy, then, should be built, according to MEPs, on optimum supply and efficient usage, encouraged by closer coordination among member states. Recycling, the second pillar of the strategy, must be promoted, for example through harmonising standards. The Commission was asked to analyse the life cycle, use made of waste, by sector, and to examine ways of increasing recycling which allows industrial synergies. It is important, therefore, that firms realise that their energy and waste can be resources for others. A coherent raw materials strategy could, Parliament says, invigorate the EU's industrial base, technological capacity and know-how, and increase competitiveness and stable qualified employment. In addition to re-use and low-energy recycling, attention must be paid to eco-design and a longer life span for products. The Bütikofer report highlights, too, the possibilities of urban mining, based on recycling electronic waste.
The report stresses, in addition to sustainable exploitation of the raw materials from sensitive areas such as the Arctic region, the Barents region and Greenland, cooperation with supplier third countries to ensure fair and sustainable supply of resources. Parliament says that raw materials diplomacy is needed, in particular for those which are essential, such as rare earths. This diplomacy must encompass EU external relations, trade, environment and development policies and promote democracy, human rights, regional stability, transparency and sustainable development. (E.H./transl.rt)