26/02/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 26 February, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament launched a petition calling for an embargo on minerals illegally mined by Rwanda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “It is undeniable that the exploitation of rich minerals, essential to the digital and technological industries, is helping to finance the war” in the east of the DRC, wrote Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont in an accompanying editorial, calling on the EU to “live up to its promises ” and “activate the levers at its disposal, starting with its trade policy”. This initiative complements the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday 13 February, which calls for sanctions against Rwanda and the suspension of the memorandum of understanding on raw materials with the EU (see EUROPE 13579/12). These measures were also defended by the ‘Greens’ during the debates preceding the vote (see EUROPE 13577/6). The petition: https://aeur.eu/f/fnh (JM)