Speech at High-level conference at the Raw Material Week

Speech at High-level conference at the Raw Material Week

Dear ministers,

Your excellencies,

Dear Members of the Parliament,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very happy to be here, at the High-Level Conference of the Raw Materials Week.

All of us in this room, we share a common conviction: there is no transition to carbon zero, no strong European industry, without raw materials. Electric cars need lithium-based batteries. Wind turbines need copper, or aluminium. Raw materials are simply essential to our prosperity.

All of you here have done a tremendous work to secure our supply chains of raw materials over the last years. In Europe and beyond. In particular with the Critical Raw Materials Act. And I'd like to praise you for that.

My priority for the years ahead on raw materials will be the same as for Europe's most strategic industrial sectors: a solid market at home, and stable collaboration with partners outside home.

Because as we all know, Europe cannot, and does not want to, reach full autonomy on raw materials. Quite the contrary, we must continue to reach out to the world.

First, let's talk about boosting our capacities at home.

Early next year, I will present the list of strategic projects under The Critical Raw Materials Act. We have received 170 applications. Working closely with the teams here, we will select projects that best fit our criteria - especially environmental, social and governance criteria.

I can already tell you that those projects will target various raw materials, and reach across the whole value chain. They will be both from within and beyond Europe.

You can count on my determination to make sure these projects become a reality on the ground. And I know I can also count on your support to make that happen.

For this, hand in hand with Member States we will work on making licensing faster and simpler. And on limiting the financial risks, to make these projects appealing for public and private investors.

Second - When we talk about raw materials, we must also talk about recycling. We can't afford to simply dispose, or waste products that contain rare, expensive, critical raw materials. So we must sharply increase our capacity to keep those products here, and recycle them here. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create a real European market for second-hand products, and a single market for waste products.

Last but not least – our international partnerships.

Europe has a raw materials strategy. And a raw materials diplomacy. It relies on the partners we have outside our borders. Just a quick look at this room is enough to prove it: South America, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, you are all here.

These partnerships are not just about securing supply. They are about the conditions that we put into securing supply. I mean ambitious environmental and socials requirements, good governance, respect for human rights, and engaging local communities. With every partnership, we aim to shape a future global market for raw materials under fairer and greener conditions.

What is also important to us is to ensure these partnerships are win-win and allow local value creation, so allow our partners to move up the value chain. Extraction is good, but sustainable extraction and refining is even better.

This will be our priority with my colleagues Maros Sefcovic and Jozef Sikela.

Today, we are officially launching the work on two of those partnerships. One that we concluded last year with the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the other one which we concluded six months ago with Australia. We will now officially endorse our roadmaps for both partnerships.

Without further due, I would like to invite my colleague Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, and the Honourable Minister for Mines, Kizito Pakabomba, to join me on stage, for the endorsement of the roadmap for our partnership.

Thank you very much.