EU wants to build partnerships with countries producing strategic raw materials

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton speaks at a press conference on the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU's long-term competitiveness strategy and 30 years of the Single Market at EU headquarters in Brussels, 16 March 2023. AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

On Thursday 16 March, the European Commission presented its plan for the EU's industrial future. "Zero-emission industry" is now the priority in order to achieve the European goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The objective is to manufacture 2/5th of its green technology needs in Europe within a year. But to make these solar panels, heat pumps, batteries for storage or electric vehicles, you need raw materials that the EU does not have or only in limited quantities.

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With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet

Lithium, cobalt, germanium, tungsten or rare earths, on the other hand, are present in abundance in emerging countries to which the EU wants to offer "win-win" partnerships to get out of dependence on, for example, China, which works only for its own interest.

The European Commission offers partnerships to countries rich in strategic raw materials that should enable them to reap all the benefits of this wealth themselves. A partnership has already been launched with Namibia, another could be finalized in June with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The EU's hope is to succeed in convincing all countries to achieve extraction and production conditions that meet European standards of respect for the environment or protection of workers. The EU will propose investments first to map the subsoil in order to assess the heritage, the resources of the countries. Then, it will be necessary to define priorities such as cobalt or lithium for extraction and especially refining on site. The EU will offer its trading partners such as the United States or Canada to join what it calls the "investor club".

Potential partnerships

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What these potential partners want is to gradually share the added value locally. €2,000 per tonne of lithium extracted, €80,000 refined. Refining will take place in China and the added value that contributes to development will disappear, says Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. When I then go to talk to our American partner, I say: " That is our project. Why don't you come with us in this way?" And they are very interested, and so are Canadians. Those who have skills that will be able to come and invest with us, because we need money.

And the Commission also wants to promote investment in local infrastructure, roads, but also in energy, such as hydropower in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Inga dam or wind, solar and even hydrogen in Namibia.

►Also listen: EU and DRC announce agreement on rare minerals such as copper and cobalt

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• European Union
• Environment
• Energies
• DRC
• Namibia