The European Commission has drawn up a list of 47 priority projects in the mining and processing sector that it aims to bring into operation by the end of the decade, in response to the growing global competition for essential elements such as lithium, cobalt, copper, and rare earth metals.

“We don't want to replace our dependence on fossil fuels with a dependence on raw materials,” said Stéphane Séjourné, the Commission's Vice-President responsible for industrial strategy, to journalists in Brussels. “Chinese lithium will not be tomorrow's Russian gas.”

The French Commissioner was referring to the fact that the Kremlin had been leveraging its control over a significant portion of Europe's natural gas supply in the period leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to China's position as a leading supplier of many essential elements, including almost all of the rare earth metals imported into the EU.

Lithium – a key component of batteries for electric vehicles – is just one of 34 raw materials that the EU has identified as crucial for the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and a new digital economy, with half of these considered strategically important.

The EU list – which can be viewed on an interactive map – includes industrial projects for the mining or processing of lithium in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Finland. In total, the projects are spread across 13 member states.

Lithium and Cobalt on the Horizon

According to the Critical Raw Materials Act, adopted a year ago, governments have committed to ensuring that 10% of non-energy raw material extraction, 40% of their processing, and 25% of recycling takes place within the EU by the end of the decade.

The Commission stated that the bloc will fully achieve these targets for lithium and cobalt if the relevant projects – selected based on their maturity and viability – are implemented, while also making "significant progress" in the areas of graphite, nickel, and manganese.

The Act calls on EU member states to ensure streamlined permitting for the selected projects, within 27 months for mining operations and 15 months for processing and recycling facilities.

The newly created Commission's Board for Critical Raw Materials will work with involved companies to secure capital investments totaling €22.5 billion, which are estimated to be needed, for example, by facilitating financing through development banks.

The European Investment Bank's administrative board approved last week the launch of a new strategic initiative for critical raw materials, which will release €2 billion this year alone for financing investments.

PHOTO - TASS/Valerij Šarifulin

Of the 170 applications for inclusion in the EU's list of strategic projects, 46 came from countries outside the EU, and decisions on these will be made in the coming weeks after further discussions, which, as Séjourné admitted, will have a political dimension.

The Commission's Vice-President, however, denied that the actions of the United States, which have signaled an interest in critical raw materials in Greenland, Ukraine, and even Canada, were the driving force behind the EU's raw materials policy, which has been gaining momentum for several years.

“On the other hand, there is probably a certain degree of urgency and speed that did not exist three or four months ago in trade relations and geopolitical tensions, which we must take into account,” he said.

Trump Takes Action

The urgency is clearly felt even on the other side of the Atlantic. U.S. President **Donald Trump** announced last Thursday in an executive order "immediate measures to increase American mineral extraction," which similarly aims to shorten permitting timelines and frame it as a matter of national defense and energy security. However, not all observers are satisfied with the pace at which Brussels is proceeding. **Robin Roels**, coordinator of the EU Raw Materials Coalition, a coalition of environmental NGOs, warned that the Commission risks undermining public trust through "a lack of transparency" in the selection process. "If the EU is serious about a fair and sustainable transition, it must open this process to real scrutiny and ensure that the voices of the community are heard," he said. "Despite repeated requests, the complete list of project applicants and the evaluation criteria remain unpublished." The Commission is clearly aware that public opposition to mining projects – which has slowed efforts to develop lithium mining in Portugal and Serbia, to name just two recent examples – will need to be overcome if the EU is to achieve its 2030 goals. "Mining in Europe will also mean political work to ensure the social acceptability of these projects," said Séjourné, emphasizing the need to highlight national and European interests. euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ Photo by Vardan Papikyan on Unsplash