According to Peeter Tali, Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee, the European Commission is currently gathering feedback in order to present a legislative proposal for the establishment of a European Critical Raw Materials Centre as early as this autumn. In a public consultation, the European Commission has proposed that the centre should have four core functions: collecting industrial data and monitoring value chains; establishing strategic stockpiles; conducting joint procurement and aggregating demand; and coordinating funding.
“Estonia has previously expressed interest, in its positions, in establishing this centre – or a facility for storing rare earth element stockpiles – in Estonia. Estonia and the companies operating here possess technology for processing rare earth elements, which other European Union countries generally do not have,” Tali said. According to him, launching the centre would help ensure economic stability and security of supply in the sector, including safeguarding employment in the sector and preventing disruptions to work processes.
Representatives from the Ministry of Climate presented the positions proposed by the Government regarding the public consultation on the EU Critical Raw Materials Centre at the committee’s meeting today. The European Union Affairs Committee unanimously decided to support the positions proposed by the Government, in accordance with the opinion of the Economic Affairs Committee.
The positions approved by the Commission note, among other things, that stockpiling at the EU level is important for ensuring security and economic stability, but this must primarily enable a response to crisis situations and ensure security of supply. According to the positions, stockpiling must take place through close cooperation between the private and public sectors.
Estonia also holds the view that the planned stockpiles of critical and strategic raw materials should be distributed across the EU, and that joint purchasing should be employed only when the security of supply for the EU’s strategic sectors – including the defence and energy industries – is at risk, and specifically for raw materials where individual companies have limited bargaining power. Estonia also supports the flexible use of various financing instruments, including loans, guarantees, and grants, in financing the raw materials industry.