The Council of the European Union has adopted its position on the proposal for a Regulation on Critical Raw Materials, which was submitted under the Green Deal Industrial Strategy. The Council's position includes a number of improvements to the Commission's proposal, taking into account the different conditions faced by member states.
One of the key changes proposed by the Council is to increase the target levels for processing and recycling critical raw materials. The Council recommends that the target for processing be raised from 40% to 50%, and the target for recycling from 15% to 20%. This would help to reduce the EU's reliance on imports of critical raw materials and create jobs in the processing and recycling sectors.
The Council also recommends that bauxite/alumina/aluminum be included as a strategic raw material and critical substance. This is because aluminum is a key component in many high-tech industries, such as the aerospace and automotive sectors.
In addition, the Council recommends that the regulation should promote the recovery of secondary critical raw materials from waste and identify mining waste facilities where secondary raw materials can be recovered. This would help to close the loop on critical raw materials and reduce the environmental impact of their extraction and use.
The Council's position is a positive step towards ensuring the EU's long-term supply of critical raw materials. The next step is for the European Parliament to consider the Council's position and adopt its own negotiating position. Once both the Council and the Parliament have adopted their negotiating positions, trilogue negotiations will commence.
The trilogue negotiations are expected to be complex, but the Council's position provides a good starting point for discussions. The Council's recommendations are in line with the EU's broader objectives of reducing its reliance on imports, creating jobs, and protecting the environment.
It is hoped that the trilogue negotiations will be successful and that a final agreement on the Regulation on Critical Raw Materials can be reached in the near future. This would be a major step forward in ensuring the EU's long-term supply of critical raw materials.
Critical raw materials (CRMs) are those raw materials which are economically and strategically important for the European economy, but have a high-risk associated with their supply. The EU is heavily reliant on imports of CRMs, and this reliance is increasing as the demand for these materials grows.
The Regulation on Critical Raw Materials aims to ensure the long-term supply of CRMs to the EU. The regulation would do this by promoting the recycling and processing of CRMs, diversifying the EU's supply of CRMs, and ensuring that the EU's CRM supply chains are sustainable.
The adoption of the Regulation on Critical Raw Materials would have a significant impact on the EU economy. The regulation would create jobs in the recycling and processing sectors, and it would help to reduce the EU's reliance on imports of CRMs. The regulation would also help to ensure that the EU's CRM supply chains are sustainable.
The regulation is expected to be adopted in the near future. Once it is adopted, it will be a major step forward in ensuring the long-term supply of critical raw materials to the EU.