Within the EU, logistics accounts for about 7% of EU GDP and 5% of total employment in the EU. Logistics is an enabler for both global trade and local economies. Efficient and sustainable logistics play a vital role in the smooth functioning of many other services and activities in the economy. For instance, 18% of the wholesale and retail trade sectors’ added value originates with logistics services. COVID-19 and the measures taken to control its spread have created unprecedented conditions for nations’ and the world’s transportation and supply chain networks. 

The European Commission has recently pointed out that internal supply of many raw materials is of critical and strategic importance to Europe as well as a key enabler for Europe´s climate transition. We fully support the latest Raw Materials Initiative and the Raw Material Alliance (ERMA), launched at the same time as the list on critical raw material were extended, and look forward to work together with the Commission in developing more secure and sustainable value chains within the EU. 

Today, the European Commission published the fourth edition of the List of Critical Raw Materials. The communication of the list is contained in the Action Plan on critical raw materials and is accompanied by a foresight study on critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors from the 2030 and 2050 perspectives.

As the recognized representative of the European mineral raw materials industry covering more than 42 different metals and minerals and employing 350.000 directly and about four times as many indirectly, Euromines welcomes a European Green Deal to put Europe on the right track to a sustainable future. We also believe that an updated Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change should focus both on prioritizing policy areas and actions where EU interventions can be most effective as well as on assessing how to increase ambitions in a manner that best contributes to sustainable growth and enhances economic competitiveness.