Brussels, 05/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission presented the press with a working paper from its services that calls for reflection, which, according to Vice President Günter Verheugen (industry), should lead to an “integrated approach” from the EU on securing raw materials for industry. Access to raw materials is also on the agenda of the G8 summit, which will be adopting a declaration on the subject.
European industry is finding it increasingly difficult to get access to raw materials, notes the Commission paper. As a result of rising global demand (China, Brazil, India and China), prices for many metals have reached record levels and Europe's capacity to provide raw materials is limited. Many metallic minerals are either geologically not available within the EU, or only in relatively small volumes compared with global production, e.g. copper (5%), iron ore (2%), nickel (1.7%), and zinc (8.5%). As an illustration, 177 million tonnes of metallic minerals were imported into the EU in 2004 with a total value of €10.4 billion, compared to the EU's production of some 30 million tonnes. On the other hand, for construction minerals (in particular aggregates) Europe is self sufficient, and for certain industrial minerals such as feldspar, kaolin, magnesite, gypsum and potash, the EU continues to be either the largest or second largest producer in the world.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, Mr Verheugen said: "European industries need predictability in the flow of raw materials and stable prices to remain competitive. We are committed to improve the conditions of access to raw materials, be it within Europe or by creating a level playing field in accessing such materials from abroad.” The Commission is therefore calling for an “integrated approach” that uses different EU policies (external relations, trade, development, environment and research) to ensure the Union's security of supply in raw materials. Verheugen said that it was too early to say what “concrete measures” would be used to attain this objective. He said that it involved a process and that they were only at the beginning of this process. The Commission vice president added, however, that the only thing he could say was that “there will not be any political intervention on the raw materials markets”. The EU is definitely expected to react against export restrictions in some countries on aluminium, scrap metal and wood, which are creating supply problems for European industry. The publication of the working paper will be followed by a “consultation phase”, after which the Commission will produce concrete proposals, explained Mr Verheugen. Gas and oil are not affected because they are already covered by the energy policy launched by the EU in its “energy packet” adopted last March, explained the commissioner. (hb)