During a speech at the Battery Summit on Monday 22 March, the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform, Elisa Ferreira, has insisted that the extraction of lithium and raw materials must be done in a way that respects the local landscape and environment and works cooperatively with local people.
In Mrs Ferreira’s opinion, it is important that these mining projects address the “legitimate concerns” of local people. The communities in question must, according to the Commissioner, be “veritable participants” in extraction activities. Similarly, local municipalities should not bear the costs of remediation and clean-up that are associated with the mining extraction activity.
The Commissioner also insisted that these mining regions should not be seen as “just mines”. They must benefit from the later stages of the value chain, such as processing, research and innovation, she emphasised.
The Commissioner recalled that Cohesion Policy had contributed €40 billion to innovation and research during the 2014–2020 Multiannual Financial Framework period, and in the new 2021–2027 budgetary cycle is expected to contribute some €80 billion.
She thereby highlighted the interregional smart specialisation partnership on advanced materials for batteries, which was set up in 2018 as part of the ‘Battery Alliance’ (see EUROPE 12608/21) and the EU Strategic Action Plan on batteries. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)