Press release

Press release on the agreement on the Critical Raw Materials Act

The building of the European Parliament

The Critical Raw Materials Act: PowerShift calls for high raw material consumption to be taken into account

Berlin, 14.11.2023: Yesterday evening, the European Parliament, member states and the European Commission agreed on the Critical Raw Materials Act, just eight months after the European Commission presented its draft. Final technical questions will be resolved in the next few days. Michael Reckordt, Team Leader Raw Materials Policy at PowerShift, comments:

"It is to be welcomed that the EU has agreed on higher recycling targets. At the same time, it is still unclear to what extent the globally unjust and ecologically destructive consumption of raw materials in the EU is also being addressed. So far, the European Commission has refused to do this. This high consumption is the starting point for the violation of human and labour rights, indigenous rights and environmental standards.

Background: The Critical Raw Materials Act aims to ensure the supply of raw materials to European industry and reduce the EU's dependence on individual countries (e.g. Russia or China). PowerShift has repeatedly warned of the CRMA's threat to environmental and human rights protection.

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