EU struggling to meet raw material mining and processing targets -- Politico
- Only 25% of EU strategic mineral projects are meeting their deadlines.
- One-third of mining and processing initiatives are stalled, delayed, or dead.
- Bureaucratic red tape and financial hurdles strangling the Critical Raw Materials Act.
- EU remains shackled to foreign supply chains, failing to break China's grip on lithium and cobalt.
Brief Summary
Brussels is finding that passing a piece of legislation is significantly easier than actually digging a hole in the ground. Two years into the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU’s ambitious plan to achieve strategic autonomy in EV batteries, semiconductors, and military tech is faltering. With roughly a third of projects effectively DOA, the bloc's goal of weaning itself off foreign-sourced materials by 2030 looks increasingly like a fantasy.
Why This Matters
This failure is a preview of the economic friction coming your way. As Europe struggles to secure the materials needed for the modern tech and green energy transition, global competition for these resources will only intensify, driving up costs for everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. When the EU inevitably fails to meet its domestic production targets, the resulting supply chain bottlenecks will likely force prices higher and leave Western markets at the mercy of foreign monopolies for years to come.