Implementing the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act

Written by Guillaume Ragonnaud.

The EU’s ability to boost its competitiveness, become a climate-neutral economy by 2050, sustain the green and digital transition and achieve strategic autonomy depends heavily on access to critical raw materials (CRMs). Key technologies, across all industries, depend on CRMs’ unique physical properties.

The CRM Act (CRMA), aimed at making the EU’s supply of CRMs more secure, resilient and sustainable, entered into force on 23 May 2024. The CRMA lists 34 CRMs, of which 17 are considered ‘strategic’ (SRMs). The act includes measures to strengthen the EU’s raw materials supply chains, monitor and mitigate supply risks and increase the sustainability of the CRMs consumed in the EU. It sets the following non-binding benchmarks for the overall capacity at EU level to be achieved by 2030 (in terms of annual consumption of SRMs): the EU should mine 10 % of its annual needs, process 40 % of its needs, and cover 25 % of its needs through recycling. Furthermore, the EU should diversify its imports of SRMs and, for each SRM, should not depend on any single third country for more than 65 % of its supply by 2030. The CRMA also sets a number of deadlines for key developments up to 2031.

The time has now come to implement the new regulation. The CRMA has generally been hailed as a good first step in the right direction, but its weaknesses have also been highlighted. These include the lack of specific EU funding and doubt as to whether the measures to accelerate mining will prove effective. The EU’s capacity to achieve the benchmarks for 2030 has therefore been questioned by a number of experts.

Many proposals for improving the EU’s CRM policy have recently been put forward. The Draghi Report includes 11 specific priority actions, including setting up a dedicated EU CRM platform to deliver a more comprehensive and coordinated strategy covering the whole CRM value chain. The Letta Report suggests that the EU could use joint purchasing to set up strategic reserves of key CRMs to the benefit of the single market. Other proposals outlined in this briefing include measures to boost circularity, ensure coherence of EU law affecting the CRM sector, and develop global partnerships to diversify supply.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Implementing the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.