On Friday 23 February, European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič chaired the fourth Clean Transition Dialogue on the importance of critical raw materials in the green transition.
“We are fully aware that in order to succeed in our green and digital transitions or to be competitive in any future-oriented technology, we simply need critical raw materials”, he said at the start of the meeting.
“We haven’t done it in the past, I would say in the last 10 to 20 years, so we need to catch up quickly, because it’s important for the success of the European economy and the economic security of the EU”, he insisted.
Representatives from across the critical raw materials value chain were present, along with NGOs, social partners and Nicola Beer, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.
Mr Šefčovič discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the sector in the context of the green transition. Several thematic sessions were held on boosting the production of critical primary raw materials in the EU, building partnerships with third countries and the production of recycled secondary raw materials in Europe.
The day before, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen assured that the European Commission was working to make raw materials accessible to the clean technology industry.
The Clean Transition Dialogues are an initiative of the President, announced during her State of the Union address in September 2023. The next dialogue will take place on 26 February and will focus on the development of an efficient energy infrastructure network.
A report on the results of the Clean Transition Dialogues will be published in April, ahead of the European Council meeting on 17 and 18 April. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)