Rare Earths: EU Develops a Rare Earth Industry Plan
EU Commission President von der Leyen stated that Brussels is considering all possible measures to address rare earths.
According to Bloomberg, von der Leyen said at the Berlin Global Dialogue Conference on Saturday: "In recent weeks and months, adversaries have significantly strengthened export controls on rare earths and battery materials," and added that this constitutes a "major risk."
She said: "The EU is developing a plan to help the EU industry reduce its reliance on foreign rare earths. She said, 'The plan will be based on previous initiatives the EU proposed to deal with Putin's cut-off of Russian fuel supplies.'
Madam von der Leyen said: "The plan aims to ensure that European industry can obtain other key raw material sources in the short, medium, and long term. First through a circular economy, that is, reusing and recycling products and materials already contained in products sold in Europe. She said: Some companies can recover up to 95% of key raw materials from batteries."
She also mentioned that the European Commission also hopes to "stimulate investment in strategic projects for the production and processing of key raw materials in Europe" and "accelerate the establishment of key raw material partnerships with countries such as Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile, or Greenland." In short, it is to diversify supply sources around the world.
Madam von der Leyen was the former German Defense Minister, and she emphasized, "Europe can no longer do things the old way. We have already learned painful lessons in the energy sector (from Russia)."
Source: rfi
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846968764606528/
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