The European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act, which was supposed to help the continent free itself from dependence on China for key minerals, is facing serious challenges. New analyses show that only a quarter of the mining projects that received special status under this law are on track with their timelines.
Challenges Facing Projects
Stefan Siegen, the EU industry chief, will release a new list of key mining projects on Friday that will have access to funding, expedited permitting, and assistance from Brussels in finding buyers. The aim of this initiative is to turn Europe into a major producer of essential materials for clean energy, technology, and defense industries. Currently, Europe is heavily reliant on imports of these materials.
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Progress in the first round of 47 projects announced early last year offers little hope for achieving these goals. Diego Mari, the raw materials policy chief at the European Environment Office, stated that "at least one third of the strategic mining and processing projects are currently either delayed, halted, or at risk, and only about a quarter are clearly on a path to progress."
Financial and Political Barriers
The industry says that financial, legal, and political barriers are hindering the progress of mining projects in Europe, despite the Critical Raw Materials Act's goal of accelerating the initiation of mining activities. According to industry executives, announcing more strategic projects will only create more problems. However, a commission official has denied this claim, stating that some of these projects have received direct funding from the commission.
In March 2025, the EU introduced 47 projects that include 14 of the 17 recognized strategic raw materials. These projects will contribute to the EU's raw material supply goals: by 2030, the union aims to extract at least 10% of materials, process 40%, and recycle 25%, while not wanting to source more than 65% of any material from a non-EU country.
Relying on mining projects to reduce dependence on China for key materials is the main objective of this policy. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently addressed this issue in a speech, expressing her concerns about the over 80% dependence on China for critical raw materials.
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