For a moment, it looked as if the EU Commission would have to postpone the planned adoption of its legislative proposals on the mining offensive and the future of green technologies in Europe. There were too few Commissioners. Only if twelve are present, the authority is quorate according to the statutes. But because many were not in Brussels because of the unusual date on Thursday, the nervousness was great when only eleven took their seats – until the delayed Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean arrived. There would also have been a need for discussion in terms of content. Some Commissioners are anything but happy. "Too many old recipes, too much planned economy," it was later said. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed through both projects.
Hendrik Kafsack
Economic correspondent in Brussels.
- Follow I follow
In fact, with the Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to promote the extraction, refining and recycling of 18 strategically important raw materials, and the Net Zero Industry Act, which aims to support the establishment of pioneering green technologies, the Commission is making new capital in industrial policy. The two laws are intended to make the EU less dependent on China and prevent it from falling behind in competition with the US and China. They are a response to the "Made in China 2025" program and the "Inflation Reduction Act" (IRA), with which the US is allocating around $369 billion to green technologies, alike.
From 0 to 40 in 7 years
The Commission intends to respond to this above all by proclaiming quotas for production and production. The Raw Materials Act stipulates that 10 percent of the important raw materials required will be mined in Europe by the end of the decade. These include lithium, also known as "white gold", or rare earths, which are indispensable for the production of smartphones, wind turbines or car batteries. 40 percent of these raw materials are to be processed or refined in the EU, 15 percent are to be obtained through recycling. This is ambitious. Currently, the share of own production in consumption is just 3 percent. The number of refiners in which the raw materials are processed and refined tends towards zero, said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
One problem for the EU is that individual countries – above all China – have a de facto monopoly. "99 percent of the borates used for wind power, magnets and semiconductors come from Turkey, 97 percent of the magnesium from China, 63 percent of the cobalt for batteries and high-strength light alloys for defense and aerospace come from the Democratic Republic of Congo," Breton lists. In addition, 60 percent would be processed in China. Above all, Beijing has created a unique position for itself through the targeted development of its own refineries. "With its quasi-monopoly on rare earths and permanent magnets, Beijing has a geopolitical instrument in its hands," he warns.