The EU member states approved the Union’s new Regulation on the supply of critical and strategic raw materials on 18 March, the final step in the adoption of the legislation. The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) is intended to make the EU less dependent on individual supplier countries, to tap new sources of supply and to advance research and innovation activities for greater resource efficiency and substitution. The Regulation also aims to promote the recycling of critical and strategic raw materials.
After gaining approval from the European Parliament in December 2023 and the green light from member states at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council at the beginning of last week, the CRMA can now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into effect on the twentieth day after publication.
"With the Critical Raw Materials Act we want to turn the challenges of our dependencies into strategic autonomy and an opportunity for our economy,” said Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture, representing the current Belgian Presidency of the Council....
