On Thursday, 20 July, the Council of the EU adopted the negotiating mandate that the European Commission had proposed for the future Critical Minerals Agreement with the United States (see EUROPE B13201A28). The EU will thus be able to negotiate the agreement with Washington over the coming months. Once it comes into force, it will allow European companies to have access to certain subsidies under the American Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The Council of the EU was, incidentally,...