The agreement was reached more quickly than expected. On the evening of Monday 13 November, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council reached agreement on the details of the text of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). It has taken three rounds of negotiations since the plenary adopted Parliament’s compromise (see EUROPE 13250/17) in September, which was tabled by the rapporteur, Nicola Beer (Renew Europe, German).
A number of substantial changes have been made, notably to the timeframes for granting permits and the targets for processing raw materials and recycling.
List of ‘strategic’ raw materials
The provisional agreement takes up Parliament’s and the Council’s requests concerning the addition of aluminium (see EUROPE 13249/17, 13213/8) to this so-called ‘strategic’ list. It also adds synthetic graphite (used in particular in batteries), which was not included in the text approved by Parliament.
Increased time limits for permits
This was perhaps the “most politically sensitive” article in the negotiations, according to several stakeholders, as it concerned a prerogative under the direct responsibility of the Member States. Article 10, which governs the time taken to grant permits for strategic projects, has had its deadlines increased by 3 months: 27 for extraction projects and 15 for recycling projects. This increase now includes the time taken by the national competent authorities to check the environmental impact assessment that companies are required to provide before starting work on a project.
EU transformation and recycling targets
While the 10% extraction target has not been changed, the provisional agreement does alter the target for the processing of raw materials: at least 40% of the EU’s annual consumption must be processed on EU27 soil. This is less than what Parliament had voted for, which was 50%.
This change is explained by a desire to guarantee a certain level of processing in third countries where the raw materials are extracted, so that they continue to benefit from the added value linked to the processed material.
The overall recycling target has been increased from 10% to 25%. This threshold represents a compromise between the Council’s position and that of Parliament, which called for a specific threshold for each subject according to its specific characteristics.
Both the Parliament and the Council welcomed the “rapidity” of the negotiations, driven by a “strong will” on both sides to move the text forward. The rapporteur hopes to put the text of the provisional agreement to the vote at the December plenary session. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)