Speech by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič at the opening of the Critical Raw Materials Board

EVP Šefčovič speech at the Critical Raw Materials Board

Dear Nicola,

Dear Kerstin,

Ladies and gentlemen.

I am very happy to welcome you to the Charlemagne building today to open the first session of the Critical Raw Materials Board.

This is an important step in making the Critical Raw Materials Act a reality, just 14 months after it was first proposed by the European Commission.

On the day in which the Act officially comes into force.

So we can safely say that we are not losing a single day when it comes to this endeavour, crucial to Europe's future green and sustainable economy.

And I want to thank all the colleagues who have been working relentlessly over the past months to make this happen.

As you know, we have considerable challenges ahead of us.

The Critical Raw Materials Act sets out ambitious targets to accelerate the production of primary and secondary raw materials and boost our resilience, while ensuring that the industry meets the highest social and environmental standards.

The goal of this board is to make sure that we are all working together in the same direction for full and speedy implementation of the Act.

Today provides us with the opportunity to consider in detail all the challenges we face, and the solutions we can put forward to tackle them.

We will start by formalising the board's rules of procedure. This is not only a legal necessity, but also a symbolic step towards building a shared sense of action, to learn from each other, and develop EU added value in this field.

The next step is to set in motion the Strategic Projects, a key part of the Act and something which has drawn high expectations.

They will be key in our work to build up CRM capacities in Europe.

So I am pleased that we are launching the first call for Strategic Projects already today. This will help us to start growing a pipeline of projects in short order.

Your work will be instrumental in ensuring that we can adopt these projects as quickly as possible.

And in doing so, underline to the raw materials community that we are serious in our ambitions.

But we all know that we must look beyond our borders when it comes to securing the supplies Europe needs.

So you will also look at future priorities in terms of strategic partnerships with third countries.

We have already made a great deal of progress. In the past three years, we have signed 12 such partnerships.

They are already delivering results, notably allowing for investments in projects along the value chains of our partners.

Now, we must focus on how to ensure these efforts result in tangible projects that will support our resilience, while creating value locally.

I know that colleagues have been carrying out business missions to partner countries over the past few months. Expectations are high and competition is fierce, so we need to show our partners that we are committed.

The financing of strategic projects will be another challenge. It is a topic that crops up in almost all of the discussions I have with companies from the CRMs sector, including last week at the Raw Materials Summit.

So I am very happy that my dear friend Nicola Beer from the European Investment Bank is here today, and will say a few words shortly.

I know your real commitment to the topic of raw materials, including acting as a rapporteur on the Critical Raw Materials Act as it was adopted by the European Parliament in December.

So I hope you have a lot of business cards handy, Nicola, because I am sure you will be very popular today!

I am equally happy that we also have representatives of different funds on critical raw materials, from France, Germany, Italy, the EBRD, and EIT InnoEnergy, to present their work.

Their presence is further proof, if it were needed, of the growing interest and shared vision.

They will have a pivotal role to play if we are to make the Act a success.

A European approach to finance is a necessity, as we need to make the best use of all the financial tools at our disposal and have them work in a complementary way to de-risk CRMs projects.

Finally, in the last session, you will tackle the questions of monitoring and stockpiling.

I know that some Member States are already developing stress testing, and that some are more advanced in stockpiling. This is a perfect example of why we need this board to build on each other's strengths and share our good practices.

Because we need to improve when it comes to anticipating supply issues, and mitigating problems when they arise.

Last but not least, let's make full use of our political and economic weight, and the size of our Single Market, through the joint purchasing of CRMs.

I encourage all stakeholders to promote and participate in the public consultation on this initiative, to help us ensure it is as successful as the joint purchasing of gas.

So you have a busy day ahead of you, but I look forward to hearing the outcome of the dialogue and debate you will have.

Thank you.