Spain, outside the agreement on securing the supply of critical raw materials

The critical raw materials They are of great importance for the development of European industry, especially in the market where China monopolizes a large part of the supply of these materials. Aware of that, Germany, France and Italy reached an agreement this week to ensure their industry’s access to these critical materials, improving their cooperation in extracting, processing and recycling these minerals. Spain was left out of this pact.

The three European powers and representatives of the industrial sector met last Monday to discuss and “seek solutions” to the challenges posed by the supply of critical materials. “The covid-19 pandemic and the numerous crises that Europe has faced since 2020 have shown the urgency of rethinking the European position, especially on the market of critical minerals and metals,” reads the document drawn up and signed by the economic managers of Germany, France and Italy.

He lithiumhe nickelthe rare earthshe galliumhe tungsten… are “necessary” for the production of photovoltaic cells, wind turbines and electronic components, among others. The document points out that the green and digital transition will “exponentially increase” the demand for these materials, which is why the EU must “reduce its strategic dependencies to the outside”, especially China, where most of the components come from.

That is why Germany, Italy and France consider it necessary to set up some extraction, processing and recycling critical raw materials, while promoting the reuse of these materials. The three member states agree that these goals must be compatible with “ambitious criteria” in terms of respect for the environment and have promised to intensify their cooperation through joint investments in strategic projects. Moreover, they decided to establish a working group to coordinate their efforts, which will meet again in Italy in October.