According to a June 4 report on the website of French newspaper "Southwest", tungsten from the UK, graphite from Ukraine or Greenland, etc.: On Wednesday, the EU selected 13 strategic projects outside the Union to diversify the supply of strategic raw materials.

For several months, the EU has been striving to reduce its severe dependence on Asia and ensure industrial security. European Commission Executive Vice President Stefan Sieurne emphasized to the media that "this diversification is very important to ensure that the EU maintains independence in future geopolitical and diplomatic crises."

Following the publication of about 50 mining projects within the EU at the end of March, Brussels has now turned its attention to places like New Caledonia.

The new list covers strategic raw materials essential for electric vehicle energy storage systems and batteries, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. It also includes rare earth mining, which is a key element in producing magnets used in wind turbines.

Together with UK Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds and Ukrainian Environment and Natural Resources Minister Svitlana Grynchuk, Sieurne emphasized the "two projects" carried out jointly with these "partners and friends".

The project chosen in Devonshire, in southwest England, is called "Wolfram West". Tungsten is used in defense and aerospace industries.

In Ukraine, the EU chose a graphite mining project named "Balashivka Graphite Deposit". Graphite is one of the components of batteries.

The projects selected by the European Commission on Wednesday will receive financial support from the EU. Last year, Europe passed legislation to secure supplies. It drew up a list of 17 strategic raw materials including cobalt, nickel, and aluminum, and set quantitative targets.

For each raw material, by 2030, the EU must meet at least 10% of its extraction needs, 40% of its processing needs, and 25% of its recycling needs within its territory. Additionally, for each raw material, the EU's dependence on any single third country must not exceed 65%. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent war in Ukraine, the EU has learned painful lessons, realizing that excessive reliance on imports of certain critical raw materials may lead to stagnation in its supply chains.

Original title: "EU Launches Overseas Strategic Projects for Rare Metals"

Column Editor: Sun Xinqi; Text Editor: Shen Jialing; Cover Photo Source: Shanghai Observer

Source: Author: Reference News Mobile Terminal

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512771399216382505/

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