“It is necessary to note that with regard to raw materials, Most of the time we depend on one country, which is China“, denounces the French Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for industry Stefan Sigourney.
He pointed out that “there is a Chinese strategy that monopolizes between 70% and 80% of extraction or refining, depending on the vital raw materials.” Beijing also produces 90% of the world’s refined rare earth elements and rare earth magnets.
Committee Ursula von der Leyen On Wednesday, the action plan was approved ResourcesEuropean UnionWhich aims to ensure the European Union’s supply of these strategic resources, such as rare earth elements, cobalt or lithium. It’s all about the ingredients Essential for industries such as automotive, military or semiconductors.
The main novelty of RESourceEU is the commitment to Rare earth and permanent magnet recycling As a recipe for reducing dependence on China. Brussels is also committed to facilitating obtaining permits to exploit mines located within the European Union, in addition to searching for alternative suppliers such as Ukraine, Norway, Australia, Canada or South Africa.
Currently, the European Union recovers less than 1% of the rare earth elements consumed. With the right incentives, Rare earth recyclers in Europe can do this Meet up to 20% of current demand Of permanent magnet.
To promote recycling, Brussels will propose During the first half of 2026 Imposing export restrictions of waste and scrap permanent magnets, as well as specific measures regarding Aluminum scrap. Adoption of similar procedures will be considered Scrap copper If you consider it necessary.
Another pillar of the RESourceEU plan is implementation European Center for Critical Raw MaterialsIt is a new organization that aims to monitor the market, direct and finance strategic projects in cooperation with partners from the public and private sectors.
In addition, the center, which will begin its work in early 2026, will serve as supply chain manager, – Strengthening joint procurement and strategic reserves To ensure a diverse and flexible supply across Europe.
In the next 12 months, LThe European Union will allocate up to 3 billion euros to promote projects that provide alternative supplies in the short term.
The Commission, the European Investment Bank and Member States have already started releasing funds for two priority projects: extracting lithium from Vulcan in Germany for use in batteries, and Greenland Resources’ Malmberg molybdenum project, which aims to secure supplies for the defense sector.
China’s dominance
The Critical Raw Materials Act (adopted in 2024) stipulates that by 2030, the EU must have the capacity to extract 10%, process 40% and recycle 25% of the strategic raw materials it consumes. At the same time, you must diversify your offer It does not depend on one country to meet more than 65% of the demand.
“Although the trend is clear, It is necessary to accelerate progress towards achieving these goals“, warns the community executive.
“China has imposed its dominance over global production capacity At all stages of the value chain, from extraction to metal or magnet manufacturing. “This control creates dependencies on the EU and other partners, which is increasingly used as a geopolitical tool, with the potential to significantly impact European industry,” the Brussels report says.
The Commission warned that “the crisis in the supply of vital raw materials represents a real and present threat to the European Union.”
Beijing is leveraging its strength in the market for vital raw materials to gradually expand its dominance in key value chains, such as batteries, electric cars or turbines.
Moreover, in the past three years, China has adopted a series of export control measures affecting strategic resources such as graphite, gallium, tungsten, bismuth, germanium and rare earths, as well as finished products such as batteries or equipment related to rare earth processing.
The new restrictions on October 9, 2025 included extraterritorial controls on any industrial or defense products containing certain important raw materials. Its one-year suspension (which Donald Trump agreed with Xi Jinping but extended to include the EU) “offers only temporary and partial relief.”
European manufacturers of cars, machinery and medical devices continue to be affected by other measures in place, causing administrative disruption and delays in shipments. “With few alternatives on the market, they are often left waiting, without visibility into license approval deadlines and forced to provide sensitive commercial information,” Brussels admits.
All of this could lead to… Temporary closure of production and even plant closures and layoffs“While undermining the EU’s economic security, its long-term competitiveness and its energy transition objectives.”
“Determined reliance on certain raw materials may also hamper the EU’s ability to achieve its 2030 defense readiness targets and support Ukraine militarily, which represents Direct safety risks“, concludes the committee.