Brussels has taken a step forward in the fight for the European Union’s strategic autonomy with the approval of several rare earth mining projects in Spain. This initiative is part of a package of around 50 projects aimed at strengthening the continent’s mining industry and reducing dependence on China, which currently supplies 70% of these materials to Europe.

The European Commission has identified 17 critical raw materials for the European economy, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, gallium, boron, titanium, and tungsten , all of which are essential for sectors such as wind energy, battery production, and defense. The European Critical Raw Materials Act seeks to encourage the extraction, processing, and recycling of these materials within the EU to reduce dependence on third countries.

Commissioner for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné , emphasized the urgency of this plan to avoid situations of vulnerability similar to those experienced during the energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine. “Chinese steel cannot be the new Russian gas,” his team declared.

Incentives and financing for mining projects

Brussels is willing to finance part of the guarantee required for investments in mining operations, encouraging not only the opening of new deposits but also the reopening of inactive mines . The goal is to guarantee reserves equivalent to a year’s consumption of European industry.

The European Commission has also approved a regulation to reduce bureaucracy in permitting exploitation. Thus, extraction projects will not be able to take more than 27 months to obtain authorization , while processing and recycling projects will have a limit of 15 months .

2030 Goals and Strategic Alliances

The EU has set a goal of ensuring that, by 2030 , 10% of its raw materials come from within its territory, 40% are processed domestically , and 25% are recycled . To this end, agreements with Latin American countries are also being explored to diversify the supply of critical minerals and avoid market volatility in China.

The law approved in December 2023 by the European Parliament received majority support with 549 votes in favor , reflecting the political consensus on the urgency of this issue. Nicola Beer, MEP and rapporteur for the legislation, emphasized that this is “a key industrial policy project for the future of Europe . ”

The global shift toward renewable energy and digitalization will exponentially increase demand for these raw materials. Furthermore, the tightening of China’s trade policy and the instability stemming from conflicts such as the war in Ukraine have made access to these resources a major geopolitical factor.