ERT issues Expert Paper on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act

Brussels, 12 September 2023: The EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act) is an important first step towards securing a sustainable supply chain of critical raw materials for Europe – an indispensable factor in delivery of the green and digital transitions. ERT supports the objectives and priorities addressed in the CRM Act.

In this Expert paper, the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) provides a cross-sectoral industry perspective on the current challenges and opportunities in this field. It also puts forward recommendations towards the shared objective of boosting the EU’s CRM supply. In order to drive growth, innovation and investment along the CRM value chain, the EU has to focus on creating a predictable and coherent legislative framework – one which provides long-term certainty and competitive operating conditions for businesses in Europe.

This includes:

1. Clarifying the relationship between the new list of strategic raw materials and the updated list of critical raw materials.
2. Providing adequate support measures to strengthen long-term commercial investments in sustainable mining, processing and manufacturing in the EU, including new sources of funding.
3. Avoiding specific auditing and reporting obligations and excessive administrative burdens for companies.
4. Pursuing a more harmonised and coherent EU regulatory framework.
5. Favouring trade policy measures to diversify the supply of raw and processed materials in line with free market principles, and only using trade defence tools where clearly justified.