20/05/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 19 May, the European Commission opened, until 29 July, a call for evidence on the future European Critical Raw Materials Centre (CRMC), which will be structured around four strands: joint purchasing, stockpiling, investments and raw materials intelligence. “Critical raw materials are essential for EU manufacturing, green, digital, aerospace and defence industries. EU faces strong dependencies in its access to materials such as rare earth elements, which are being exploited by other geopolitical players”, explains the consultation document of the EU institution. Commission will draw on the experience of Japan’s Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). Commission will present a legislative proposal in 2026 to give it concrete form. Link to the consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/lzc (SP)