Berlin, (EFE).
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen announced Saturday that the bloc is working on a plan to ensure access to alternative sources of critical raw materials.
“I can announce that we are working on a new RESourceEU plan – along the lines of the REPowerEU initiative which helped us overcome the energy crisis together,” von der Leyen said at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference in the German capital.
“Europe knows the dangers that lie here. It was a painful crisis when our over-dependency on Russian oil and gas was exposed, following the start of Putin’s war on Ukraine. This is a lesson that we can never afford to ignore or to forget. We are now in an era of geoeconomics.”
Von der Leyen explained that the initiative, designed to support European industries, responds to a shifting geoeconomic landscape in which countries are increasingly using supply chains, tariffs, and other non-commercial measures as “tools for imposition and competition.”
She specifically referred to China’s Oct. 9 decision to restrict the export of technologies related to rare earths, describing it as “a significant risk” that hampers the ability of other countries to develop their own rare earth industries.
“If you consider that over 90% of our consumption of rare earth magnets come from imports from China, you see the risks here for Europe and its most strategic industrial sectors. From automotives to industrial motors, defence to aerospace, or AI chips to data centres,” she said.
“If you consider that more than 90% of our rare earth magnet consumption comes from imports from China, you can see the risk this poses to Europe and its most strategic industrial sectors—from automotive and engine manufacturing to defense, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and data centers,” she said.
“We are focusing on finding solutions with our Chinese counterparts. But we are ready to use all of the instruments in our toolbox to respond if needed. And we will work with our G7 partners on a coordinated response.”
According to von der Leyen, the new European plan will outline short-, medium-, and long-term measures to secure alternative sources of critical raw materials.
Among the proposals are deepening cooperation with China’s counterparts, boosting recycling within Europe, and accelerating agreements with resource-rich partners such as Ukraine, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile, and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Regarding China, von der Leyen emphasized that while the EU remains open to dialogue, the bloc is “prepared to use all available tools to respond if necessary.”
