Last September, the Commission adopted the Critical Raw Materials action plan, presenting ten concrete actions to tackle vulnerabilities in the raw materials supply chains. The action plan announced that the EU should engage in strategic partnerships with resource-rich third countries, making use of all external policy instruments and respecting its international obligations.

The partnership with Canada received the political endorsement at the EU-Canada summit on the 14-15 June. The partnership aims at advancing the value, security, and sustainability of trade and investment into resilient raw materials and downstream value chains across both Canada and the EU. The areas for cooperation are: Integration of Canada-EU Raw Materials Value Chains; Science, Technology and Innovation and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Criteria, and Standards.