On 13 July, the INTA Committee held the final vote on the draft opinion for the ITRE report "a European Strategy for Critical Raw Materials" with 34 votes in favor, 2 against and 4 abstentions.
The rapporteur, Roman Haider (ECR, Austria) published the draft opinion on 26 April. It includes the following points:
calls on the Commission to diversify the supply sources of critical raw materials as much as possible, and reduce current reliance on a few countries.
calls on the Commission to focus on securing supplies by establishing strategic stocks and appropriate stockpiling of critical raw materials in Europe, particularly in light of the uncertainties linked to the evolution of the geopolitical situation worldwide and the potential trade tensions with rich non-EU producer countries.
calls on the Commission to further enhance the enforcement of FTAs to ensure that commitments and obligations on sourcing of critical raw materials are met by trading partners.
calls on the Commission to strengthen cooperation on sustainable sourcing of raw materials with third countries under existing EU policies and instruments, including enlargement, neighbourhood, development and cooperation policies.
Next steps: The deadline for opinion-giving committees is 10 September 2021. ITRE's draft report will be voted on 27 September 2021 and is expected to be adopted in the November Plenary.
Context: On 1 June, the ITRE Committee published its draft report on the European Strategy for Critical Raw Materials, with MEP Hildegard Bentele (EPP, Germany) as rapporteur. The opinion-giving committees are ENVI, with MEP Sara Matthieu (Greens/EFA, Belgium) as rapporteur, and INTA, with MEP Roman Haider as rapporteur (ECR, Austria).
The report is an own-initiative procedure in response to the European Commission’s New Industrial Strategy, the New Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Green Deal, amongst other initiatives. The report highlights the challenges and opportunities of CRMs in thetwin digital and green transition, and addresses the following key topics: strategic autonomy andresilience, closing material loops, and diversification of sourcing of CRMs.