Brussels, 23/01/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 23 January, the Member States had not yet authorised the European Commission to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to cooperate on critical raw materials (see EUROPE 13785/3). This issue was initially dealt with by Coreper 1 before being linked to the trade agreement signed by the two parties last summer. More specifically, the Commission wants to establish a ‘strategic partnership on critical materials’, but further discussions would appear to be necessary at both political and technical levels. The EU27 have also exchanged views on EU-US cooperation on critical materials, this time in relation to possible restrictions on aggressive third countries, as mentioned in the joint EU-US statement of 21 August. A ministerial meeting on critical materials organised by the US State Department will take place in Washington on 4 February. (SP)