In the thirty-fourth episode of the EU to go podcast, Thu Nguyen talks with Yann Wernert and Francesco Findeisen about critical raw materials and whether the EU has become too dependent on exporting countries.
At the latest since the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine, it has become evident that relying solely on one-sided economic dependencies, such as gas, can lead to disastrous consequences. However, the EU frequently depends on only a few exporting countries, even for critical raw materials, instead of diversifying or expanding locally. Yet, these critical raw materials pose a significant supply risk: They are not only essential for cell phones and laptops, but also for technologies crucial to the green transformation, such as batteries, electric motors, and solar panels.
To address this issue, the EU Commission has introduced the Critical Raw Materials Act. In this episode, Yann Wernert, Francesco Findeisen, and Thu Nguyen examine the effectiveness of this proposal, its shortcomings, and whether its measures can contribute to achieving the climate targets by 2030.
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