The European Commission has adopted ‘A New Industrial Strategy for Europe’.

Within this comprehensive strategy, it aims to reinforce Europe’s industrial and strategic autonomy: “With the transition of Europe’s industry to climate-neutrality, the reliance on available fossil fuels could be replaced with reliance on non-energy raw materials, many of which we source from abroad and for which global competition is becoming more intense. Boosting recycling and the use of secondary raw materials will help reduce this dependency. Demand for raw materials is projected to double by 2050, making diversified sourcing essential to increase Europe’s security of supply. Critical raw materials are also crucial for markets such as e-mobility, batteries, renewable energies, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, defence and digital applications. An Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, including efforts to broaden international partnerships on access to raw materials is planned to be developed to achieve these objectives.