France and Germany are proposing that the EU focus on 30 critical raw materials, to be identified by the European Commission, in order to concentrate resources and maximise leverage, according to a joint non-paper sent to Member States on Thursday 29 September.
According to the non-paper obtained by EUROPE on Friday 30 September, the two Member States are calling for European action to focus on 30 critical raw materials with the establishment of a strategy to reduce vulnerabilities by 2030, with targets for primary and secondary production. In this respect, the non-paper stresses the need to set the highest environmental, social and governance selection criteria, taking into account the needs of the partner States and always in full transparency.
As announced by EUROPE (see EUROPE 13026/23), the non-paper is divided into three pillars: - improving crisis management of raw materials supply; - assessing existing financing instruments and possible synergies to support the necessary investments in critical raw materials and metals production projects (mines, refineries and recycling capacities) inside and outside the Union; - ensuring a fair and sustainable market framework.
Reopening the EU taxonomy and creating a sovereign fund
In addition, the Franco-German tandem is calling for a new action plan on raw materials updating the 2020 plan. They also set out ideas for the possible creation of an Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for raw materials. Among other things, they are asking for an extension of the eligibility period. Furthermore, they propose to include commodities in the scope of the sustainable finance taxonomy.
Finally, the non-paper also suggests the creation of a sovereign public/private investment fund, combining equity, loans and guarantees, to invest in the mining sector, refinery activities, primary processing and recycling.
To access the joint non-paper: https://aeur.eu/f/3cx (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)