Thread by @VanberghenEU

I received a gift from #India, a little stone, symbol of teaching. A very precious symbol to me. Now thinking about the new Team #Europe diplomacy on raw material. #Thread

#EU is trying is enhance its diplomacy by diversifying imports and increasing its own capacities through a better coordinated approach. We have now new legislation. The act foresees the creation of a board that would provide a #European perspective on #raw materials. 1/1

You might wonder: "Why start mines in #Europe, when the whole supply chain process works so well and cost-efficiently in #China?" 1/2

We are in a global supply chain. It does not matter if a computer is produced in #Europe or #China. When you think realistic, it is not about flag, it is about values. 1/3

The entire value chain for car batteries in connection with graphite is in #China. Source: #Euractiv. Do we have investments or better to go to China? The waste eligible for recycling is currently being shipped to other countries, most notably #China. 1/4

#China controls up to 80% of the refining chains for strategic metals, & over 90% in some raw materials key to #Europe’s production process. The new EU legislation on critical raw materials act is about reducing our dependency of China. 1/5

The new legislation stipulates that at least 10% of the #EU’s annual consumption of crucial raw materials are to come from #European soil, with a 40% target for refining raw materials & a 15% target for recycling. 1/6

Permission time for critical #rawmaterials is to be reduced to 2 years, down from 10 years currently. The member states will need to improve its #environmental impact assessment. There will be a lot of public pressure to respect the environment. 1/7

It doesn't take a genius to understand how our 🌐 is going. Covid was a wake-up call, helping us to understand how the supply chain shortages works. We strategically shift our production capacities towards #Europe. 1/8

And we might be tempted to believe that after all this legislation is not so important...but it really matters. Within the next y, we would have to decide if we are nurturing our relations with #democracies or with #autocracies. It will have impact on our international 🌐order.🔚

@UnrollHelper Unroll, please.