2023-06-27 08:12:42
From cobalt to lithium, several crucial raw materials are the subject of work on a European scale, aimed in particular at developing mining projects and refining plants on European soil.
An aluminum “ticket” production plant, in Ariège (illustration) (AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)
The German, French and Italian economy ministers will deepen their cooperation to secure access to critical raw materials, essential to their industry, they announced Monday at a joint press conference in Berlin.
Concerned about the dependence of European industrialists on China for a number of raw materials, the European Commission presented a regulation on March 16 to secure supplies, from lithium to cobalt, including nickel, for car batteries.
A “first step”
The three ministers, the German Robert Habeck, the French Bruno Le Maire and the Italian Adolfo Urso, called for a “rapid conclusion” of the discussions for an “ambitious” text. The regulation presented by the European executive may still be deeply revised in the coming months by the 27 EU member countries and MEPs before it is finalized.
“To succeed in the ecological and digital transition, we must help our industrial companies secure access to the critical raw materials they need,” said Bruno Le Maire. “If the European law is an important first step, our meeting today in Berlin” is “an opportunity to exchange between governments, as well as with representatives of industry, to go further”, he said. -he says.
The Commission’s plan, designed to secure the supply of raw materials to the Old Continent, will in particular encourage the establishment of mining projects and refining plants on European soil.
Berlin, Paris and Rome pleaded for including aluminum in the list of critical materials,
according to a statement from the three countries issued on Monday.
To invest in strategic materials, Paris has set up an investment fund which will be endowed with 500 million euros of public money, Italy likewise up to a billion euros. For Germany, Mr. Habeck also mentioned the possibility of a fund of up to one billion euros. “There is no agreement yet within the ministries of the German government,” he said, but it is in preparation
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