On Thursday 7 September, the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is set to vote on a report by Nicola Beer (Renew Europe, German) on access to critical raw materials in the EU.
The political groups have agreed on compromise amendments, which EUROPE has consulted. These depart little from the Commission’s initial proposal (see EUROPE 13143/2) and the first draft submitted by the rapporteur in May (see EUROPE 13183/7).
With just a few days to go before the vote, the vast majority of the groups support the compromise. If approved by the ITRE Committee on Thursday 7 September, the report will be put to the vote at the first plenary session in October in Strasbourg.
Extraction, conversion and recycling targets
MEPs are sticking to the target of extracting 10% of the critical raw materials consumed in the EU by 2030. On the other hand, they consider that at least 50% (rather than 40%) of the EU’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials should be processed on European soil by 2030, which is in line with the EU Council’s position. However, the authors of the amendments specify that up to 20% of this processing capacity “might be developed under strategic partnerships in emerging markets and developing countries”.
As for recycling, MEPs do not wish to define a single objective for all strategic raw materials combined. Instead, they suggest increasing the recycling rate on a case-by-case basis to take account of the very different levels of recycling for different materials. The increase to be achieved by 2030 must be at least 10% compared to the levels observed over the period 2020-2022, according to the compromise text.
The European Parliament also appears to want to limit dependence on imports from a single country to 65% of annual consumption per strategic raw material. Priority must also be given to reducing dependence on “non-reliable partners that do not share EU values, respect for human rights, democracy and rule of law”, according to the European Parliament’s political groups.
Project eligibility
If they stick to this compromise text, MEPs will not call for any changes to the lists of strategic and critical raw materials. However, the Commission will have to review these and update them, if necessary, every two years, rather than every four years as initially proposed.
MEPs are adding a number of requirements to the eligibility criteria for projects, notably relating to sustainability and respect for human rights.
For example, projects taking place outside Europe must be carried out in countries that share EU values, add MEPs, in addition to other criteria already established by the Commission.
Finally, with regard to applications for recognition of strategic projects, they require promoters to provide additional information on the environmental or social impact, such as plans to improve the environmental state of the extraction site or detailed plans for relocation where this is necessary. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)