Non-energy raw materials
Non-energy raw materials are an essential part of both high tech products and every-day consumer products, such as houses, automobiles, computers, and mobile phones. European industry needs fair access to raw materials both from within and outside the EU. On the one hand, exploration and extraction are facing increased competition for different land uses and a highly regulated environment. On the other hand, the EU is highly dependent on imports of economically important raw materials which are increasingly affected by market distortions.
On 4 November 2008 the European Commission adopted a new integrated strategy which sets out targeted measures to secure and improve access to raw materials for the EU.
The proposed strategy is based on three pillars:
- ensure access to raw materials from international markets under the same conditions as other industrial competitors;
- set the right framework conditions within the EU in order to foster sustainable supply from European sources; and
- boost overall resource efficiency and promote recycling to reduce the EU's consumption of primary raw materials and decrease the relative import dependence.
The Commission will report to the Council in 2 years on the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative.
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International aspects
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Sustainable supply in the EU
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Resource efficiency and recycling
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Critical raw materials
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Facts and figures
- Conference on the European machinery industry Brussels, Belgium, 9 December 2009
- Series of economic studies on the knowledge economy to be published (Deadline: TBA)
- FP7 Security Call 3 - FP7-SEC-2010-1 (Deadline: 26/11/2009)
- Ecodesign for a sustainable future 19 November 2009
- Suggestions to reduce administrative burdens put on business by the EU (Deadline: TBA)
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Harmonised classification and labelling of two chemical substances
(Deadline: 19/12/2009)
