The European Union signed, on Thursday 30 November in Brussels, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Greenland for a strategic partnership aimed at developing sustainable raw materials value chains.
Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Naaja H. Nathanielsen, the country’s Minister of Business and Trade.
Of the 34 critical raw materials considered by the Commission to be of strategic importance for European industry and the green transition, 25 can be found in Greenland.
This Memorandum of Understanding covers five areas: - economic and industrial integration of value chains for Critical Raw Materials and other raw material ; - cooperation to leverage high international environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, for the benefit of Greenland’s minerals sector; - deployment of infrastructure required for the development of raw material value chains; - strengthening of capacities and skills development along raw materials value chains; - cooperation on research and innovation and sharing of knowledge and technologies related to sustainable exploration, extraction, processing and refining of raw materials.
The parties will jointly draw up a roadmap with concrete measures to implement the strategic partnership. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)