Commission adopts RESourceEU to secure raw materials, reduce dependencies and boost competitiveness

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has adopted today the RESourceEU Action Plan to accelerate and amplify its efforts to secure the EU’s supply of critical raw materials, such as rare earth elements, cobalt or lithium. Building on the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the initiative provides financing and concrete tools to protect industry from geopolitical and price shocks, promote projects on critical raw materials in Europe and beyond, and partner with like-minded countries to diversify supply chains.

The plan aims to fast-track relevant projects and reduce strategic dependencies. The proposal will:

Protect European industry from geopolitical and price shocks

In early 2026, the Commission will set up a European Critical Raw Materials Centre to provide market intelligence, steer and finance strategic projects using tailored instruments with private and public partners, and act as portfolio manager for diversified and resilient supply chains, including through joint purchasing and stockpiling.

To protect the industry from geopolitical and price volatility while increasing awareness of possible shortages, the Raw Materials Platform will facilitate the efforts of the companies to aggregate demand, jointly purchase strategic raw materials and secure offtake agreements. Work is underway with Member States on a coordinated EU approach to stockpiling critical raw materials, with a pilot scheme set to become operational in early 2026.

To protect the Single Market and bolster supply chain resilience, the Action Plan foresees monitoring, crisis coordination and defence against hostile interference.

To boost Europe’s recycling capacity, the Commission will introduce, in early 2026, restrictions on the export of scraps and waste of permanent magnets on the basis of a thorough assessment as well as targeted measures on aluminium scrap. Similar actions will be considered for copper scrap if this proves necessary.

A targeted amendment to the CRMA expands product labelling requirements and incentivises recycling of pre-consumer waste for permanent magnets, i.e. materials wasted during manufacturing, such as scraps, trimmings, and defective products. Shares of recycled content in permanent magnets will support recycling in the EU. 

By mid-2026, an action plan will also support domestic fertilisers and recycled nutrients as well as alternatives to tackle dependencies on fertilisers made from critical raw materials.

Promote critical raw materials projects by de-risking investments and fast-tracking permitting

The Commission will accelerate EU-relevant projects by mobilising financial de-risking tools and removing regulatory bottlenecks to fast-track Strategic Projects with the potential to reduce dependencies by up to 50% by 2029. The EU will mobilise up to  €3 billion over the next 12 months to support concrete projects that can provide alternative supplies in the short term. The Commission, European Investment Bank and Member States are already unlocking financial support forpriority projects, such as for the Vulcan’s lithium extraction project in Germany, and the Greenland Resources’ Malmbjerg molybdenum project.

Partner with like-minded countries for strong and diversified supply chains

The EU will deepen cooperation with like-minded partners to diversify supply and accelerate industrial cooperation, building on the existing 15 Strategic Partnerships signed with resource-rich countries, with South Africa being the most recent one. The Commission will also launch negotiations with Brazil. The EU is also working on dedicated investment frameworks for integrated critical raw materials value chains with Ukraine, Western Balkans and its Southern Neighbourhood. The Commission will further pursue win-win investment projects under Global Gateway with emerging markets and developing economies. Internally, the EU supports the Canada-led G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance and the G7 roadmap for standards-based markets and will promote strong diversification through G20 Critical Minerals Framework.

Background

President von der Leyen announced the RESourceEU plan at the Berlin Global Dialogue last October. It aims to secure raw materials for key industrial sectors, from automotives to industrial motors, from defence to aerospace, or AI chips to data centres, and protect EU value chains from supply disruptions. The recent weaponisation of CRMs by dominant market players highlighted the need to accelerate existing efforts to enhance security of supply. The Action Plan builds on the Critical Raw Materials Act to reduce the EU’s dependencies more rapidly by proposing concrete policy and financing tools.