Council of theEuropean Union
Brussels, 29 November 2023
(OR. en)16127/23
Interinstitutional File:
2023/0079(COD)
COMPET 1191
IND 636
MI 1062
POLCOM 299
RELEX 1402
RECH 536
CODEC 2317
INST 480
PARLNAT 230
WTO 185
CCG 36
NOTE
From:
To:

General Secretariat of the Council
Delegations

No. prev. doc.:
No. Cion doc.:

15686/2023
7568/23 +ADD 1-5

Subject:

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
OF THE COUNCIL establishing a framework for ensuring a secure andsustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU)
168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU) 2019/1020- Letter sent to the Chair of the European Parliament ITRE Committee

Following the Permanent Representatives Committee meeting of 29 November which endorsed thefinal compromise text with a view to agreement, delegations are informed that the Presidency sent theattached letter, together with its Annex, to the Chair of the European Parliament ITRE Committee.

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Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw
materials and amending Regulations (EU) 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU)2019/1020(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,1

OJ C , , p. .

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ENWhereas:(1)

Access to raw materials is essential for the Union economy and the functioning of theinternal market. There is a set of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials that, due to theirhigh economic importance and their exposure to high supply risk, often caused by a highconcentration of supply from a few third countries, are considered critical. Given the keyrole of many such critical raw materials in realising the green and digital transitions, and inlight of their use for defence and space applications, demand will increase exponentially inthe coming decades. At the same time, the risk of supply disruptions is increasing against thebackground of rising geopolitical tensions and resource competition. Furthermore, if not
managed properly, increased demand for critical raw materials could lead to negativeenvironmental and social impacts. ▌(1c)Given the complexity and the transnational character of critical raw material value
chains, uncoordinated national measures to ensure a secure and sustainable supply ofcritical raw materials risk undermining the functioning of the internal market. Criticalraw materials are often extracted in specific countries or regions, depending on thegeographical distribution of relevant reserves, transported for further processing
elsewhere and then sold across the internal market for use in relevant products. At theprocessing stage, critical raw materials are often imported and exported several times
within the internal market before use in a final application. Similarly, recycling of
relevant products at end of life with a view to the recovery of critical raw materials may
take place in a different country or region than where relevant waste is collected, and theresulting secondary materials are likely to be reexported for further processing and use.
In addition, critical raw materials are needed at the beginning of many industrial value
chains and are often indispensable inputs for a wide set of strategic sectors including
renewable energy, the digital industry, and the aerospace and defence sectors. They
therefore play an essential role in underpinning economic activities in the internal market
and disruptions in their supply could have a significant cross-border impact between
Member States.

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(1d)

Against this background, uncoordinated actions by Member States risks distorting
competition and fragmenting the internal market, for example by imposing diverging
regulation for market operators, providing different levels of access to supply risk
monitoring, providing different levels of support to national projects, or by creating
obstacles to cross-border trade between Member States in critical raw materials or related
goods thus creating obstacles to the proper functioning of the internal market. In
addition, individual actions of Member States may not be sufficient to effectively prevent
supply disruptions of critical raw materials from taking place or may be less efficient inachieving that aim.

(2)

Therefore, to safeguard the functioning of the internal market, a common Union
framework should be created to ensure access to a secure and sustainable supply of criticalraw materials and to safeguard the ▌ Union’s economic resilience and open strategic
autonomy.

(3)Firstly, that framework should define those raw materials that are considered strategic andcritical and strengthen the resilience of supply chains for those materials in the Union,
including by identifying and supporting Strategic Projects, and by undertaking efforts toincentivise technological progress and resource efficiency in order to moderate theexpected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials. Secondly, it is necessary
to provide measures to reinforce the Union’s ability to monitor and mitigate existing andfuture supply risks. Thirdly, the framework should contain measures to increase thecircularity and sustainability of the critical raw materials consumed in the Union.

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(4)

In order to ensure that the measures set out in the Regulation focus on the most relevantmaterials, a list of strategic raw materials and a list of critical raw materials should beestablished. Those lists should be based on clear methodologies, on the application ofwhich the Commission should communicate openly and transparently. Those lists should
also serve to guide and coordinate Member States’ efforts to contribute to the realisation of
the aims of this Regulation. The list of strategic raw materials should contain raw materials
that are of high strategic importance for the functioning of the internal market, taking into
account their use in strategic technologies underpinning the green and digital transitions orfor defence or aerospace applications, that are characterised by a potentially significant gap
between global supply and projected demand, and for which an increase in production isrelatively difficult, for instance due to long lead-times for new projects increasing supply
capacity. To take account of possible technological and economic changes, the list of
strategic raw materials should be periodically reviewed and, if necessary, updated. In orderto ensure that efforts to increase the Union capacities along the value chain, reinforce theUnion’s capacity to monitor and mitigate supply risks and increase diversification of supply
are focused on the materials for which they are most needed, certain relevant measures
should only apply to the list of strategic raw materials. Member States should not be
prevented from creating additional lists based on specific national needs, and act on themaccordingly on a national level.

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(5)

The list of critical raw materials should contain all strategic raw materials as well as anyother raw materials of high importance for the overall Union economy and for which there isa high risk of supply disruption likely to distort competition and fragment the internalmarket. In addition to the strategic technologies, also other sectors might be exposed tohigh supply risks in the future. To take account of possible technological and economicchanges, the Commission should, in continuation of current practice, periodically perform
an assessment based on data for production, trade, applications, recycling, and substitution
for a wide range of raw materials to update the lists of critical and strategic raw materials
reflecting the evolution in the economic importance and supply risk associated with those
raw materials in the internal market. The list of critical raw materials should include those
raw materials which reach or exceed the thresholds for both economic importance andsupply risk, without ranking the relevant raw materials in terms of criticality. This
assessment should be based on an average of the latest available data over a 5-year-period.
The measures set out in this Regulation related to the point of single contact, planning,
exploration, monitoring, circularity, and sustainability should apply to all critical raw
materials.

(5a)

The strategic and critical raw materials lists should use established designations for the
raw materials included. For the strategic raw materials list, the designations should refer,
where appropriate, to the grade to which a raw material has to be refined in order to be
used for the manufacturing of strategic technologies. References to critical and strategic
raw materials should be understood to refer to the entire value chain of those raw
materials, including in their unprocessed form and at all stages of processing leading up,
where applicable, to the specified grade. An exceptional clarification should be made forthe aluminium value chain, mentioning bauxite, its most important ore, and alumina, its
intermediate processing form, in addition to aluminium. Critical and strategic raw
materials are, in many cases, extracted, processed or recycled as by-products of othermain extraction, processing and recycling processes. Therefore, the by-product nature of
raw materials should not affect their inclusion on the list or their coverage by the relevant
provisions throughout the Regulation.

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(5b)

It is necessary to put in place appropriate measures to define a common approach toStrategic Projects in the Union active in the extraction, processing or recycling ofstrategic raw materials or which contribute to the production of relevant substitutematerials. These projects should, together with Member State efforts, contribute toincreasing capacities to ensure a secure supply of strategic raw materials. Other
measures, notably on exploration or circularity, should also contribute to thereinforcement of different stages of the value chain.

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(6)

To decrease the Union's growing risk of supply disruptions likely to distort competition
and fragment the internal market, Commission and Member States should strengthen the
different stages of the value chain of strategic raw materials, in order to contribute toachieving benchmarks related to Union’s capacities and diversification of supply. Such
benchmarks should help to guide efforts to strengthen Union capacities along all stages ofthe strategic raw materials value chain, including extraction, processing and recycling, andincrease the diversification of external supplies of strategic raw materials. The aim should
be to increase capacities for each strategic raw material at each stage of the value chain,
while aiming to achieve overall capacity benchmarks at Union level for extraction,
processing and recycling of strategic raw materials. Firstly, the Union should increase theuse of its own geological resources of strategic raw materials and build up capacity to allow
it to extract the materials needed to produce at least 10 % of the Union's consumption ofstrategic raw materials. Keeping in mind that extraction capacity is highly dependent on theavailability of Union geological resources, the achievement of this benchmark is dependent
on such availability. Secondly, in order to build a full value chain and prevent any
bottlenecks at intermediate stages, the Union should in addition increase its processing
capacity along the value chain and be able to produce at least 40% of its annual consumptionof strategic raw materials. Thirdly, it is expected that in the coming decades a growing shareof the Union's consumption of strategic raw materials can be covered by secondary raw
materials, which would improve both the security and the sustainability of the Union’s raw
materials supply. Therefore, Union recycling capacity should be able to produce at least
25% of the Union’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials and is able to recycle
significantly increasing amounts of each strategic raw material in waste. For waste
streams and strategic raw materials for which sufficient information is available toestimate the Union’s recycling capacity as a share of the strategic raw materials containedin those waste streams, an additional waste-based benchmark should be set.
Accompanying efforts to improve resource efficiency through research and innovation,
substitution, awareness-raising and other relevant measures will also facilitate theattainment of these benchmarks.

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These benchmarks refer to the 2030 time horizon, in alignment with the Union's climate andenergy targets set under Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of theCouncil1 and the digital targets under the Digital Decade2, which they underpin.
Furthermore, quality jobs, including skills development and job-to-job transitions, willaddress risks in the sectoral labour market and help ensure the EU’s competitiveness. The
Commission and Member States should also incentivise technological progress andresource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase in Union consumption ofcritical raw materials below appropriate reference projections. In the context of preparing
implementing measures in the Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign
requirements for energy-related products, the Commission should consider the possible
contribution of ecodesign requirements to the achievement of the Union priorities set out
in this Regulation.
(7)

For some raw materials, the Union is almost fully dependent on a single country for its
supply. Such dependencies create a high risk of supply disruptions likely to distortcompetition and fragment the internal market. To limit such potential risk and increase theUnion’s economic resilience, efforts should be undertaken to ensure that, by 2030, theUnion is not dependent on a single third country for more than 65% of its supply of any
strategic raw material, unprocessed and at any stage of processing, giving however special
consideration to countries with whom the Union has established a Strategic Partnership, afree trade agreement or other forms of cooperation covering raw materials, as they provide
greater assurances regarding supply risks.

(8)▌ To ensure that the benchmarks are met in time, the Commission, with the help of theEuropean Critical Raw Materials Board (‘the Board’) should track and report progress
towards the benchmarks and towards the demand moderation. In case the reported progress
towards the benchmarks and towards the demand moderation is generally insufficient, theCommission should assess the feasibility and proportionality of additional measures. A lackof progress only on a single or small set of strategic raw material should in principle nottrigger the need for additional Union efforts.

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(9)

▌The Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in theUnion that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw
materials, or in the production and scale-up of materials that can substitute strategic raw
materials in strategic technologies. Effective support to Strategic Projects has the potential
to improve access to materials for downstream sectors as well as to create economic
opportunities along the value chain, including for SMEs, and contribute to the creation of
employment. Therefore, to ensure the development of Strategic Projects across the Union,such projects should benefit from streamlined and predictable permitting procedures andsupport in gaining access to finance which could inspire improvements in other permitting
procedures and in access to finance for critical or other raw materials. In order to focus
support and ensure their added value, projects should, before receiving such support, beassessed against a set of criteria. Raw material projects where strategic raw materials are aby-product, including for example from ferrous scrap, should also be eligible for suchsupport, if they meet all relevant criteria. In order to be recognised as Strategic Projects in
the Union, projects should strengthen the Union's security of supply for strategic raw
materials. Projects should also show sufficient technical feasibility including the expectedvolume of strategic raw materials or substitute materials by which they increase Union
capacity, excluding materials produced for research purposes. Projects should
additionally be implemented in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. They
should also provide cross-border benefits beyond the Member State concerned, including
spill-over effects further down the value chain. Where the Commission assesses thesecriteria to be fulfilled, it should publish the recognition as a Strategic Project in a decision.
As a speedy recognition is key to effectively supporting the Union's security of supply, theassessment process should remain light and not overly burdensome.

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(9a)

When assessing whether a project in third country fulfils the criterion of security ofsupply, it should notably be taken into account for OCTs of their status under Union law.
The overseas countries and territories of the Member States contribute to the Union's safe
access to a sustainable supply of critical and strategic raw materials, particularly within
the framework of strategic partnerships.

(10)▌The Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in third
countries or in the overseas countries and territories that intend to become active in theextraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials, or in the production ofmaterials that can substitute strategic raw materials in strategic technologies. To ensurethat such Strategic Projects are effectively implemented, they should benefit from improved
access to finance , for instance through access to de-risking mechanisms for investment. In
order to ensure their added value, projects should be assessed against a set of criteria. Like
projects in the Union, Strategic Projects in third countries should strengthen the Union's
security of supply for strategic raw materials, show sufficient technical feasibility. Bothprojects in the Union and in third countries, or OCTs, need to adhere to the same level ofsocial and environmental sustainability. For projects in emerging markets and developing
economies, the project should be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country
involved and add value in that country, taking into account also its consistency with theUnion’s common commercial policy. Such value may be derived from the project’s
contribution to more than one stage of the value chain as well as from creating through the
project wider economic and social benefits, including the creation of employment incompliance with international standards. Where the Commission assesses these criteria to be
fulfilled, it should publish the recognition as a Strategic Project in a decision.

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(11)

In order to ensure the sustainability of increased critical raw material production, newcritical raw materials projects should be planned and implemented sustainably covering all
aspects of sustainability highlighted in the EU principles for sustainable raw materials 2,
including ensuring environmental protection, the prevention and minimisation of sociallyadverse impacts through the use of socially sustainable practices, including respect forhuman rights such as the rights of women, and transparent business practices. Projects
should also ensure engagement in good faith as well as comprehensive and equitableconsultations with relevant stakeholders such as local communities and indigenous
peoples. Special attention should be paid to respect for human rights where a project
involves potential resettlement. To provide project promoters with a clear and efficient way
of complying with this criterion, compliance with relevant Union or national legislation,international standards, guidelines and principles, as relevant, or participation in a
certification scheme recognised under this Regulation should be considered sufficient.

(11a) In line with the precautionary principle the Commission cannot grant the strategic status
to a deep sea mining project before the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine
environment, biodiversity and human activities have been sufficiently researched, therisks are understood and technologies and operational practices are able to demonstratethat the environment is not seriously harmed.

2

European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs, EU principles for sustainable raw materials, Publications
Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2873/27875

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(12)

Any promoter of a strategic raw materials project should be able to apply to the Commission
for the recognition of their project as a Strategic Project. The application should include
relevant documents and evidence related to the criteria. To better assess the social,environmental and economic viability, the feasibility of the project as well as the level ofconfidence in the estimates, the project promoter should also provide a classification of the
project according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources, and toallow for objective validation, they should support this classification with relevant evidence.
A timetable for the project should also be attached to an application, in order to estimate
when the project would be able to contribute towards the benchmarks for domestic capacity
or for diversification. As public acceptance of mining projects is crucial for their effective
implementation, the promoter should also provide a plan containing measures to facilitate
public acceptance. Special attention should be paid to social partners, civil society and otheroversight actors. The promoter should also provide a business plan providing information
regarding the project’s financial viability and giving an overview of funding., the ownership
structure and off-take agreements already secured as well as estimates for potential job
creation and for the project’s needs in terms of skilled workforce, including upskilling andreskilling. In order to harmonise the application process, the Commission should provide
a single template for applications.

(12a) Additionally, for projects with the potential to affect indigenous peoples, the application
should also include a plan containing measures dedicated to the meaningful consultationof affected indigenous peoples, the prevention and minimisation of adverse impacts on
indigenous peoples, and, where appropriate, fair compensation. If these concepts are
addressed by the national law applicable to the project, the plan might describe thesemeasures instead. For projects in third countries involving extraction, which are notcovered by Directive 2006/21/EC, the project promoter should also provide a plan to
improve the environmental state of the affected sites after the end of extraction. If the
project is located in a protected area, the project promoter should assess technicallyappropriate alternative locations and describe them in a plan, including why they are notconsidered appropriate for the location of the project.

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(13)

To structure the process, the Commission should organise an open call with regular cutoff dates, corresponding to meeting dates of the Board, for project promoters to apply forthe status of Strategic Projects. To provide clarity for project promoters regarding theirapplications for Strategic Projects, the Commission should adhere to timelines for its
decision on whether to designate a project as strategic. To accommodate particularlycomplex cases or a generally high number of applications at one cut-off date, theCommission should be able to extend this deadline once. It should share its assessmentwith the Board ahead of its meeting and take the Board’s opinion into account in its
decision whether to award the status of Strategic Project.

(14)

As the cooperation of the Member State on whose territory a Strategic Project will be
implemented is necessary to ensure its effective implementation, that Member State shouldhave the right to object to and thereby prevent that a project is granted the status of Strategic
Project against its will. If it does so, the relevant Member State should provide a reasoned
justification for its refusal referring to the applicable criteria. Similarly, the Union should notgrant the status of Strategic Project to projects that will be implemented by a third country,
including Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), against the will of its governmentand should therefore refrain from doing so where a third country government objects.

(15)

To prevent misuse, the recognition of a Strategic Project should, where justified, be able tobe repealed by the Commission, after consulting with the Board and the responsible
project promoter if it no longer fulfils the conditions or the recognition was based on an
application containing incorrect information relevant to the assessment of the selection
criteria. In order to attract long-term investments and ensure legal predictability, in caseof updates of the strategic raw materials list in Annex I, a Strategic Project should still
maintain its status for a reasonable period.

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(16)

In light of their importance for ensuring the security of supply of strategic raw materials andsafeguard the functioning of the internal market, Strategic Projects should be considered
to be in the public interest. Ensuring the security of supply of strategic raw materials is of
crucial importance for the success of the green and digital transitions as well as theresilience of the defence and aerospace sectors. To contribute towards security of supply ofstrategic raw materials in the Union, Member States may provide for support in national
permit granting procedures to speed up the realisation of Strategic Projects in accordancewith Union law.

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(17)

National permit-granting processes ensure that critical raw materials projects are safe,
secure and comply with environmental, social and safety requirements. Union
environmental legislation sets common conditions for the process and content of national
permit-granting processes, thereby ensuring a high level of environmental protection andallowing for the sustainable exploitation of the Union's potential along the raw materials
value chain. Being granted the status of Strategic Project should therefore be without
prejudice to any applicable permitting conditions for the relevant projects, including thoseset out in Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council3, Council
Directive 92/43/EEC4, Directive 2000/60/EC5 of the European Parliament and of theCouncil, Directive 2010/75/EU6 of the European Parliament and of the Council and
Directive 2004/35/CE7 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directive
2009/147/EC8 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Directive 2006/21/EC9 of
the European Parliament and of the Council.

3

Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011
on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 1-21).
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and ofwild fauna and flora (OJ L 206 22.7.1992, p. 7-50).
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327,
22.12.2000, p.1-73).
Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010
on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010,
p. 17-119).
Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on
environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental
damage (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56-75).
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November
2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7-25).
Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on
the management of waste from extractive industries and amending Directive 2004/35/EC Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (OJ L 102,
11.4.2006, p. 15-34).

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(18)

At the same time, the unpredictability, complexity and, at times, excessive length of national
permit-granting processes undermines the investment security needed for the effective
development of strategic raw material projects. The structure and length of a permit
granting process for relevant projects can also differ greatly between Member States.
Therefore, in order to ensure and speed up their effective implementation, Member Statesshould apply streamlined and predictable permitting procedures to Strategic Projects. To
that end, Strategic Projects should, where they exist, be given priority status at national level
to ensure rapid administrative treatment and urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute
resolution procedures relating to them. This Regulation should not prevent competentauthorities from streamlining permitting for other projects on the critical raw materials value
chain that are not Strategic Projects.

(19)

Given their role in ensuring the Union's security of supply for strategic raw materials, andtheir contribution to the Union's open strategic autonomy and the green and digitaltransition, Strategic Projects should be considered by the responsible permitting authority as
being in the public interest. Strategic Projects which have an adverse impact on theenvironment, to the extent it falls under the scope of Directive 2000/60/EC, Council
Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC10, or in the [Nature Restoration
Regulation] may be authorised where the responsible permitting authority concludes, basedon its case-by-case assessment, that the public interest served by the project overrides those
impacts, provided that all relevant conditions set out in those acts are met. ▌The case-bycase assessment should duly take into account the geological specificity of extraction sites,
which constrains decisions on location due to the absence of alternative locations for suchsites.

10

Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November
2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7).

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(20)

In order to reduce complexity and increase efficiency and transparency in permitting
process, project promoters of critical raw materials projects should be able to interact with apoint of single contact, which is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the entire
permit granting process. To that end, Member States should set up or designate one ormore points of single contact, while ensuring that project promoters have to interact onlywith one point of single contact. It should be for Member States to decide whether a pointof single contact is also an authority taking permitting decisions or not. To ensure theeffective implementation of their responsibilities, Member States should provide their pointsof single contact with sufficient personnel and resources. In addition, the promoter shouldhave the possibility to contact a relevant administrative unit within the point of single
contact, to ensure it has an accessible contact.

(20a) It should be for Member States to, in light of their internal organisation, choose whether
to set up or designate their point or points of single contact at the local, regional or
national level, or any other relevant administrative level. In addition, Member Statesshould be able to, at the administrative level they have chosen, set up or designate
different points of single contact that focus only on critical raw materials projects related
to a specific stage of the value chain, namely extraction, processing or recycling. At thesame time, project promoters should be able to easily identify the point of single contactthat is responsible for their project. To that end, Member States should ensure that, within
the geographical area corresponding to the administrative level at which they have chosen
to set up or designate their point or points of single contact, there is not more than one
point of single contact responsible per relevant value chain stage. As many critical raw
material projects cover more than one value chain stage, Member States should, in orderto prevent confusion, ensure that a single point of contact is designated for such projects
in a timely manner.

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(21)

In order to ensure clarity about the permitting status of Strategic Projects and to limit theeffectiveness of potential abusive litigation, while not undermining effective judicial review,
Member States should ensure that any dispute concerning the permit granting process for
Strategic Projects is resolved in a timely manner. To that end, the Member States should
ensure that applicants and project promoters have access to simple dispute settlement
procedure and that Strategic Projects are granted urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute
resolution procedures relating to the projects, if and to the extent, national law provides forsuch urgency procedures.

(22)

In order to allow citizens and businesses to directly enjoy the benefits of the internal market
without incurring an unnecessary additional administrative burden, Regulation (EU)2018/1724 of the European Parliament and the Council11, which established the Single
Digital Gateway, provides for general rules for the online provision of information,
procedures and assistance services relevant for the functioning of the internal market. The
information requirements and procedures covered by this Regulation should comply with therequirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724. In particular, it should be ensured that project
promoters of Strategic Project can access and complete any procedure related to the permit
granting process fully online, in line with Article 6(1) of and Annex II to Regulation (EU)2018/1724.

11

Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October
2018 establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures
and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No
1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 1-38).

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(23)

In order to provide project promoters and other investors with the security and clarity
needed to increase development of Strategic Projects, Member States should ensure that thepermit granting process related to such projects does not exceed pre-set time limits. For
Strategic Projects involving only processing or recycling, the length of the permit granting
process should not exceed 15 months. For Strategic Projects that involve extraction thelength of the permit granting process should, considering the complexity and extent of thepotential impacts involved, not exceed 27 months. However, the preparation of theenvironmental impact assessment report pursuant to Directive (2011/92/EU) is the
responsibility of the project promoter and should not be part of timelines to which
Member States are bound. To that end, the point of single contact should notify the date bywhich the promoter needs to submit the environmental impact assessment report, and any
period between that notified date and the actual submission of the report should not becounted towards the timeline. The same principle should apply where, after the required
consultations, the point of single contact notifies the promoter of the opportunity tosubmit additional information to complete the environmental impact assessment report. In
addition, in exceptional cases related to the nature, complexity, location or size of the
proposed project, Member States should be able to extend the timelines. Such exceptional
cases could include unforeseen circumstances triggering the need to add to or complete
environmental assessments related to the project.

(23a) To effectively achieve those time limits, Member States should ensure that the responsible
authorities have sufficient resources and personnel. Through the Technical Support
Instrument, set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/240, the Commission should support
Member States, upon their request, in designing, developing and implementing reforms
including the strengthening the administrative capacity related to national permitting,such as the point of single contact.

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(24)

The environmental assessments and authorisations required under Union law, including in
relation to water, soil, habitats and birds, are an integral part of the permit granting process
for a raw material project and an essential safeguard to ensure that negative environmental
impacts are prevented or minimised. However, in order to ensure that the permit granting
processes for Strategic Projects are predictable and timely, any potential to streamline therequired assessments and authorisations while not lowering the level of environmental
protection or the quality of the assessments should be realised. To that end, it should beensured that the necessary assessments are bundled through a joint or coordinatedprocedure to prevent unnecessary overlap. In addition, it should be ensured that project
promoters and responsible authorities explicitly agree on the scope of the bundledassessment before it is implemented to prevent unnecessary follow-up. Lastly, it should beensured that for the purposes of these procedures project promoters interact with a single
authority.

(25)

Land use conflicts can create barriers to the deployment of critical raw material projects.
Well-designed plans, including spatial plans and zoning, that take into account the potential
for implementing critical raw material projects and whose potential environmental impacts
are assessed, have the potential to help balance public goods and interests, decreasing therisk of conflict and accelerating the sustainable deployment of critical raw materials projects
in the Union. Responsible national, regional and local authorities should therefore consider
including provisions for critical raw materials projects when developing relevant plans. Thisis without prejudice to existing requirements to assess the potential environmental impactsof such plans and to the required quality of such assessments.

(26)

Within the Union, critical raw materials projects often face difficulties with access tofinance. Critical raw materials markets are often characterised by high volatility of prices,long lead times, high concentration and opacity. Additionally, financing for the sector
requires a high level of expert knowledge that is often lacking among financial institutions.
To overcome these factors and contribute towards ensuring a stable and reliable supply ofstrategic raw materials, Member States and the Commission should assist in access tofinance and administrative support.

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(27)

A strong European value chain is necessary to ensure security of supply to safeguard thefunctioning of the internal market and increasing capacities can only be achieved withadequate financial means, part of which can come from existing Union funds. Critical raw
materials projects, including Strategic Projects, could be eligible for support from suchfunds if the requirements of the respective programmes are met, for example related togeographical location, the environment or their contribution to innovation. The relevant
funds comprise cohesion policy programmes, such as the European Regional
Development fund, whose allocation of grant to promote regional cohesion may enable
SMEs to develop innovative projects, for instance linked to the reduction of energy
consumption in the processing of raw materials. The Just Transition Fund can also be
used to support such type of projects to the extent that they contribute to reducing thesocial and economic costs brought by the green transition. In addition, the Recovery and
Resilience Facility, particularly its RePowerEU chapter which focuses on energy security
and diversification of energy supply, can be mobilised to support projects involved, forinstance, in the recycling or recovery of raw materials. The Innovation Fund, whose
objective is notably to drive clean and innovative technologies towards the market, may
provide grants, for instance, to enable the development of recycling capacity of raw
materials related to low carbon technologies. Furthermore, InvestEU is the Union’s
flagship programme for boosting investment, especially in the green and digital transition,by providing financing and technical assistance. Through the use of blending
mechanisms, InvestEU contributes to the crowding-in of additional public and private
capital. The Commission will work with InvestEU implementing partners to ▌ scale up
support to and investment in relevant projects, in line with the common objectives set out inRegulation (EU) 2021/52312 and in this Regulation. Lastly, projects in third countries
contributing to the diversification of Union’s supply may be supported through relevant
funds, such as the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation
Instrument, and the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus.

12

Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021
establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (OJ 64,
26.3.2021, p. 30-89)

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(28)

In order to overcome the limitations of the currently often fragmented public and private
investments efforts, facilitate integration and return on investment, the Commission,
Member States and promotional banks should better coordinate and create synergies
between the existing funding programmes at Union and national level as well as ensure
better coordination and collaboration with industry and key private sector stakeholders. To
that end, a dedicated sub-group of the Board bringing together experts from the Member
States and the Commission as well as relevant public financial institutions should be set up.
This sub-group should discuss the individual financing needs of Strategic Projects and their
existing funding possibilities in order to provide project promoters with a suggestion on how
to best access existing financing possibilities. When discussing and making
recommendations for the financing of Strategic Projects in third countries, the Board shouldin particular take into account the Global Gateway strategy13.

(29)

Private investment by companies, financial investors and off takers is essential. Where
private investment alone is not sufficient, the effective roll-out of projects along the criticalraw material value chain may require public support, for example in the form of guarantees▌ loans or equity and quasi-equity investments. This public support may constitute State aid.
Such aid should have an incentive effect and be necessary, appropriate and proportionate.
The existing State aid guidelines, which have recently undergone an in-depth revision in linewith twin transition objectives, provide ample possibilities to support investments along thecritical raw materials value chain subject to certain conditions.

(30)

Public support is used to address specific identified market failures or sub-optimal
investment situations in a proportionate manner, and actions should not duplicate or crowdout private financing or distort competition in the internal market. Actions should have aclear added value for the Union.

13

Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment BankThe Global Gateway (JOIN/2021/30 final).

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(31)

The volatile prices of several strategic raw materials, exacerbated by limited means to hedge
them on forward markets, create an obstacle both for project promoters to secure financing
for strategic raw material projects as well as for downstream consumers looking to securestable and predictable prices for key inputs. In an effort to reduce uncertainty over future
prices for strategic raw materials and thereby limit supply risk to safeguard the functioningof the internal market, it is necessary to provide for the setting up of a system that enables
both interested off-takers and promoters of Strategic Projects to indicate their buying or
selling bids and to bring them in contact if the respective bids are potentially compatible.

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(32)

The existing knowledge and mapping of the Union’s raw materials occurrences weredeveloped at a time when ensuring the supply of critical raw materials for the developmentof strategic technologies was not a priority. A lack of up-to-date geological information on
critical raw materials in the Union can undermine the development of extraction projects,
thereby weakening efforts to decrease supply risk and safeguard the functioning of theinternal market. To acquire and update information on the critical raw material occurrences,
Member States should, where relevant given the geological conditions, draw up national
mapping programmes for the general exploration of critical raw materials and the mainminerals that they are extracted together with. This should include measures such as
geological mapping, geochemical campaigns, geoscientific surveys as well as the
reprocessing of existing geoscientific datasets. This increases the probability of locating
new deposits which in turn should stimulate investments in exploration. The exploration
programmes should also consider making use of novel exploration techniques thatallowing to identify occurrences at greater depth than conventional techniques. To
facilitate the development of extraction projects, Member States should make publicly
available certain basic information acquired during their respective national exploration
programme, where appropriate using the framework of the Infrastructure for Spatial
Information established by Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and theCouncil14, while providing more detailed information upon request. The Commission may
issue guidelines to promote a harmonised format of the exploration programmes.

14

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007
establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community(INSPIRE) (OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1-14).

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(33)

Space data and services derived from earth observation can support the efforts towards
sustainable critical raw materials value chains by providing a continuous flow of
information, which could be useful for activities such as monitoring and management ofmining areas, the environmental and socio-economic impact assessment, or mineral resource
exploration. As earth observation is also able to provide data about remote and inaccessible
areas, it should be considered by Member States when drawing up and implementing theirnational exploration programmes to the extent possible.

(34)

Although the reinforcement of the Union’s critical raw materials value chain is necessary toensure increased security of supply, the supply chains of critical raw materials will remain
global and exposed to external factors. Recent or ongoing events ranging from the COVID19 crisis to the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine underlined
the vulnerability of some of the Union’s supply chains to disruptions. In order to ensure that
Member States and European industries are able to anticipate supply disruption and preparedto withstand their consequences, measures should be developed to strengthen monitoring
capacity, coordinate strategic stocks and reinforce the preparedness of companies.

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(35)

Member States do not have the same capacity when it comes to risk-awareness andanticipation, and not all Member States have developed dedicated structures that monitor the
supply chains of critical raw materials and can inform companies about potential risks ofsupply disruptions. Similarly, although some companies have invested in the monitoring of
their supply chains, others lack the capacity to do so. Therefore, in light of the global
dimension of critical raw materials supply chains as well as their complexity, theCommission should develop a dedicated monitoring dashboard assessing critical raw
materials’ supply risks and ensure the availability of the information gathered for publicauthorities and private actors, thereby increasing synergies amongst Member States. In orderto ensure that Union value chains are sufficiently prepared against potential supply
disruptions likely to distort competition and fragment the internal market, such as thosecaused by geopolitical conflicts, the Commission should conduct stress tests assessing thevulnerability of the strategic raw materials supply chains and their exposure to supply risks.
Member States should contribute to this exercise by, when possible, conducting such stresstests through their national supply and information agencies covering critical raw materials.
The Board should ensure the coordination of the implementation of the stress tests by theCommission and Member States. When no Member State has the capacity to perform arequired stress test on a given strategic raw material, the Commission should conduct ititself. ▌ The Commission should also suggest potential strategies that can be adopted by the
public authorities and private actors to mitigate supply risks, such as building strategic
stocks or further diversifying their supply. For the purpose of gathering the informationnecessary to conduct the monitoring and stress tests measures, the Commission should
coordinate with the relevant standing subgroup of the Board and Member States should
identify and monitor key market operators.

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(36)

Strategic stocks are an important tool to mitigate supply disruptions, notably for raw
materials. Although the proposed Single Market Emergency Instrument allows for the
possible development of such stocks in the event of the activation of the Single Market
vigilance mode, Member States and companies do not have obligations to build up ▌ theirstrategic stocks ahead of a supply disruption. In addition, there is no coordination
mechanism across the European Union that allows for the development of a common
assessment and of an analysis of potential overlaps and synergies. Therefore, as a first step,and taking account of the present lack of relevant information, Member States should
provide to the Commission information on potential strategic stocks, and if any, whether
they are operated by public authorities or by economic operators on the behalf of theMember States. Such information should include the level of stock available per strategic
raw material on an aggregated level, the outlook of stock levels, and the rules andprocedures applicable to these stocks. Any request should be proportionate, have regard forthe cost and effort required to make the data available as well as for its impact on national
security, and set out appropriate time limits for providing the requested information.
Information on the stocks of economic operators may be added to the analysis, albeit thisdoes not constitute a request for information on them. The Commission should handle thedata in a secure manner, and only publish information on an aggregate level. As a second
step, based on the information acquired, the Commission should develop a draft benchmark
for what should be considered a safe level of Union stocks, taking into account the total
annual Union consumption of the concerned strategic raw materials. Based on a comparison
between existing stocks and the overall levels of strategic stocks for strategic raw materials
across the Union, the Board, acting in agreement with the Commission, should then be able
to issue non-binding opinions to Member States on how to increase convergences, and toencourage them in building up their strategic stocks. In doing so, the Board should consider
the need to maintain incentives for the development of strategic stocks by private or public
operators using strategic raw materials.

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(37)

So as to foster further coordination, The Commission should ensure necessary consultationahead of Member States’ participation in international fora where such strategic stocks may
be discussed, notably via the dedicated standing sub-group of the Board. Similarly, in order
to increase complementarity between the present proposal and other horizontal or subjectspecific instruments, the Commission should ensure that the gathered and aggregatedinformation are passed to vigilance or crisis governance mechanisms, such as the proposed
Single Market Emergency Instrument's advisory group, the proposed Chips Act's European
Semiconductor Board, the HERA Board or the Health Crisis Board.

(38)

In order to ensure that they are sufficiently prepared to face supply disruptions, large
companies manufacturing strategic technologies in the Union using strategic raw materials
should perform a risk assessment of their supply chains. This will ensure that they take into
account the supply risks of strategic raw materials and, where necessary, develop
appropriate mitigation strategies to be better prepared in the event of a supply disruption.
Such large companies should, as part of that risk assessment, map the origins of theirstrategic raw materials, analyse the factors that might affect their supply and assess theirvulnerabilities to supply disruptions. In the event of vulnerabilities being detected, theidentified large companies should take efforts to mitigate them. This assessment should bebased on data acquired by companies from their suppliers and, if such data is unavailable,
on data that is publicly available or is published by the Commission, to the extent possible.
Member States should have the possibility to require that a report on the risk assessment
conducted is transmitted to the companies’ board of directors. To take into account theneed to protect trade and business secrets and to limit the exposure of companies’
vulnerabilities, this report should not be public. These measures should lead to additional
consideration being given to the costs of potential supply disruptions, without prescribing
defined mitigation strategies.

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(39)

Many markets for strategic raw materials are not fully transparent and are concentrated on
the supply side, which increases the negotiating power of sellers and increases prices forbuyers. To help lower prices for undertaking established in the Union, the Commission
should set up a system that is able to aggregate the demand of interested buyers. In order toavoid a disproportionate impact on competition in the internal market, the Commission, in
consultation with the European Critical Raw Materials Board, should carry out anassessment on the impact of the system on the market for each strategic raw material
added to the system. In developing such a system, the Commission should take into accountexperience gained in similar endeavors, in particular regarding the joint purchasing of gas asestablished under Council Regulation 2022/257615. All measures under this mechanism
should be compatible with Union competition law.

(40)

The provisions on monitoring and strategic stocks included in this Regulation do not entail
the harmonisation of national laws and regulations and do not replace existing mechanisms.
Monitoring and risk preparedness incentives should be in line with European instruments.
Therefore, instruments such as the Single Market Emergency Instrument proposal aiming toanticipate, mitigate and respond to crisis affecting the functioning of the Single Market or
the Council Regulation (EU) 2022/237216 on a framework of measures for ensuring the
supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures in the event of a public health emergency
at Union level, could still apply to critical and strategic raw materials in the event of a crisis
or a threat to the extent that those materials fall within the scope of such instruments.
Complementarity and coherence between this Regulation and crisis instruments should beensured by the Commission through exchange of information between the respective
advisory and governance bodies established by these crisis instruments.

15

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 of 19 December 2022 enhancing solidarity throughbetter coordination of gas purchases, reliable price benchmarks and exchanges of gas
across borders (OJ 335, 29.12.2022, p. 1-35).
Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2372 of 24 October 2022 on a framework of measures for
ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures in the event of a publichealth emergency at Union level (OJ 314, 6.12.2022, p.64-78).

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(41)

Most critical raw materials are metals, which can be in principle endlessly recycled, albeit
with sometimes deteriorating qualities. This offers the potential to move to a truly circular
economy in the context of the green transition while increasing the availability of criticalraw materials and thereby contributing to ensure security of supply. After an initial phaseof rapid growth of demand for critical raw material for new technologies, where primary
extraction and processing will still constitute the predominant source, , recycling should ▌increasingly ▌ reduce the need for primary extraction and its associated impacts. Thisshould be done while maintaining a high level of recycling capacity in the Union via astrong market for secondary critical raw materials. Today, however, recycling rates ofmost critical raw materials are low, with waste streams such as batteries, electrical andelectronic equipment and vehicles being shipped outside of the Union for recycling.
Recycling systems and technologies are often not adapted to the specificities of these raw
materials. Innovation plays an important role in reducing the need for critical raw
materials, reducing the risks of shortage of supply and for the development of recycling
technologies to properly and safely extract materials from waste . Prompt action
addressing the different factors holding back the circularity potential is thus required.

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(42)

Member States retain important competences in the field of circularity, for example in thearea of waste collection and treatment systems. These should be used to increase collection
and recycling rates for waste streams with a high potential for recovery of critical raw
materials, including electronic waste, making use for example of financial incentives suchas discounts, monetary rewards or deposit-refund systems while preserving the integrity of
the internal market. With a view to increasing the use of secondary critical raw materials,
this could also include differentiated producer responsibility fees, provided such fees exist
in national law, to benefit products containing a larger share of secondary critical raw
materials recovered from waste recycled in line with environmental standards establishedin Union law. Such secondary critical raw materials recovered from waste should include
recovery carried out according to third countries standards that offer an equivalent
protection to Union standards. Member State authorities should also make a difference asbuyers of critical raw materials and of products containing them, and national research andinnovation programmes provide significant resources to increase the state of knowledge andtechnology for critical raw materials circularity as well as material efficiency. Finally,
Member States should promote the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste
by improving the availability of information and by addressing legal, economic andtechnical barriers. One possible solution that Member States should look into are risksharing mechanisms between operators and the Member State to promote recovery fromclosed waste facilities. The Board should also facilitate the exchange of best practices
between Member States, on the design and implementation of their national programmes.

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(43)

The Union has, in many of its regions, a legacy of raw materials extraction and thus
substantial amounts of extractive waste on closed facilities which, due to their only recent
rise in economic importance, have generally not been analysed for critical raw materials
potential. The recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste facilities has thepotential to increase Union capacity while creating economic value and employment inhistorical mining regions, which are often affected by deindustrialisation and decline. The
lack of attention to, and information on critical raw materials content, especially on closed
waste facilities, constitutes a key barrier to greater use of the critical raw materials potential
of extractive waste.

(44)

The recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste facilities should be part of thevalorisation of relevant waste facilities. Directive 2006/21/EC sets out high requirements ofenvironmental and human health protection for the waste management of the extractive
industry. While these high requirements should be maintained, it is appropriate to establish
additional measures to maximise the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive
waste.

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(45)

Operators of extractive waste facilities, both existing and new, should perform a preliminary
economic assessment study regarding the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive
waste present on the site and from such waste being generated. In line with the wastehierarchy established in Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil17, priority should be given to preventing the generation of waste containing criticalraw materials, by extracting critical raw materials from the extracted volume prior to it
becoming waste. In elaborating this study, operators should gather the necessary
information, including concentrations and quantities of critical raw materials in theextractive waste, and perform an assessment of multiple options regarding processes,
operations or business arrangements that could enable an economically viable recovery ofcritical raw materials. This obligation comes in addition to obligations laid down in
Directive 2006/21/EC and the national laws transposing it and is directly applicable. In its
implementation, operators and competent authorities should seek to minimise administrative
burden and integrate procedures to the extent possible.

17

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008
on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3-30).

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(46)

To address the current lack of information on the critical raw materials potential of closed
extractive waste facilities, Member States should draw up a database containing all
information relevant to promote the recovery, notably the quantities and concentrations ofcritical raw materials in the extractive waste facility, in compliance with Union competition
rules. The information should be made publicly available and in a user-friendly and digitalform, enabling access to more detailed, technical information. To facilitate user-friendly
access to the information, Member States should for instance provide a point of contact toenable more in-depth exchanges with potential developers of critical raw materials recovery
projects. The database should be designed to allow potential project promoters to easily
identify facilities with a high potential for economically viable recovery. To focus limited
resources, Member States should follow a staged approach in the collection of informationand perform the more demanding information collection steps only for the most promisingfacilities. The information collection activities should be aimed at providing accurate andrepresentative information on the extractive waste facilities and gaining the best possible
indication of the critical raw materials recovery potential.

(47)

Permanent magnets are incorporated in a wide variety of products, with wind turbines andelectric vehicles being the most important and fastest-growing applications but also otherproducts, including magnetic resonance imaging devices, industrial robots, light means oftransport, cooling generators, heat pumps, electric motors, industrial electric pumps,
automatic washing machines, tumble driers, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers
containing significant amounts worth recovering. In the case of electric motors, they should
also be covered when included in other products. Most permanent magnets, especially themost performant types, contain critical raw materials, such as neodymium, praseodymium,dysprosium and terbium, boron, samarium, nickel or cobalt. Their recycling is possible but
today only performed in the Union at a small scale or in the context of research projects.
Permanent magnets should therefore be a priority product for increasing circularity, thereby
fostering a secondary market for permanent magnets and ensuring security of supply ofcritical raw materials.

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(48)

A precondition for effective magnet recycling is for recyclers to have access to the necessary
information on the amount, type and chemical composition of magnets in a product, theirlocation and the coating, glues and additives used, as well as information on how to safely
remove the permanent magnets from the product. In addition, to ensure a business case formagnet recycling, permanent magnets incorporated in products placed on the Union market
should, over time, contain an increasing amount of recycled materials. While providing
transparency on the recycled content in a first stage, a minimum recycled content should be
set after a dedicated assessment of the appropriate level and likely impacts.

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(49)

Critical raw materials sold on the Union market are often certified regarding thesustainability of their production and supply chain. Certification can be obtained in thecontext of a broad range of public and private certification schemes available with varying
scopes and stringency, creating the potential for confusion regarding the nature and veracityof claims made about the relative sustainability of critical raw materials placed on the Union
market based on such certification. The Commission should be empowered to adopt
implementing acts recognising certification schemes that should be considered ▌trustworthy, providing a common basis for authorities and market participants for assessing
the sustainability of critical raw materials. Recognition should be given only to certification
schemes which contain provisions for independent third-party verification and monitoringof compliance. As regards environmental protection, certifications schemes should coverrisks related to, for example, air, water, soil, biodiversity, and waste management. The
requirements on all sustainability dimensions should ensure a high level of social andenvironmental protection and be in line with Union legislation or the international
instruments listed in Annex III. To ensure efficient procedures, promoters of projects
applying to be recognised as Strategic Projects should be allowed to rely on participation ina recognised scheme as relevant evidence to show that their project is implemented
sustainably, thereby contributing to a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
When making use of that option, the schemes referred to should cover all sustainability
dimensions. In recognising such certification schemes, the Commission should take into
account experience gained in assessing certification schemes in the context of other
Union legislation, in particular regarding the assessment of similar schemes in thecontext of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 and [OP please insert reference to Battery
Regulation].

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(50)

The production of critical raw materials at different stages of the value chain causes
environmental impacts, whether on climate, water, soil, fauna or flora. In order to limit suchdamage and incentivise the production of more sustainable critical raw materials, theCommission should be empowered to develop a system for the calculation of theenvironmental footprint of critical raw materials, including a verification process, to ensurethat critical raw materials placed on the Union market publicly display information on suchfootprint and facilitating circularity of critical raw materials. The system should be basedon taking into account scientifically sound assessment methods and relevant international
standards in the area of life cycle assessment. The requirement to declare the environmental
footprint of a material should only apply where it has been concluded, based on a dedicatedassessment, that it would contribute to the Union’s climate and environmental objectives byfacilitating the procurement of critical raw materials with lower environmental footprint andwould not disproportionately affect trade flows and economic costs. When the relevant
calculation methods have been adopted, the Commission should develop performanceclasses for critical raw materials, thereby allowing potential buyers to easily compare therelative environmental footprint of available materials and driving the market towards moresustainable materials. Sellers of critical raw materials should ensure that the environmental
footprint declaration is available to their customers. Transparency on the relative footprint ofcritical raw materials placed on the Union market may also enable other policies at Unionand national level, such as incentives or green public procurement criteria, fostering the
production of critical raw materials with lower environmental impacts.

(51)

The Environmental Footprint methods constitute a relevant basis for the development of thecalculation rules. They rely on scientifically sound assessment methods which take into
account developments on international level and cover environmental impacts, including
climate change and impacts related to water, air, soil, resources, land use and toxicity.

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(52)

It should be ensured that ▌ the conformity of ▌ products or materials with requirements toimprove the circularity of permanent magnets and on the declaration of the environmental
footprint of critical raw materials is assessed by the responsible manufacturer before they
are placed on the market and that those requirements are effectively enforced by competent
national authorities. The conformity and market surveillance provisions established under
Regulation 2019/1020 and ▌ [Ecodesign Directive], are designed to address this challenge
and should therefore apply also to those requirements. The Commission should therefore be
empowered to adopt delegated acts to supplement this Regulation to ensure that those
provisions apply where relevant in the context of this Regulation. To further ensure that
optimal use is made of existing frameworks, it should be ensured that for products that are
subject to type approval under Regulation 2018/858 or Regulation 168/2013, compliance isenforced through the existing type approval system.

(53)

The Commission should, as provided in Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012,
request one or more European standardisation organisations to draft European standards insupport of the objectives of this Regulation.

(54)

The Union has concluded Strategic Partnerships covering raw materials with third countries
in order to implement the 2020 Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials. In order to diversify
supply, these efforts should continue. To develop and ensure a coherent framework for theconclusion of future partnerships, the Member States and the Commission should, as part oftheir interaction on the Board, discuss ▌ , inter alia, whether existing partnerships achieve
the intended aims, the prioritisation of third countries for new partnerships, the content ofsuch partnerships and their coherence and potential synergies between Member States'
bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries. This should be done without prejudice tothe prerogatives of the Council in accordance with the Treaties. The Union should seek
mutually beneficial partnerships with emerging market and developing economies, in
coherence with its Global Gateway strategy, which contribute to the diversification of its
raw materials supply chain as well as add value in the production in these countries.

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(54a) Strategic Projects in third countries, particularly where no Strategic Partnership exists,
can be particularly risky for investors and often highly dependent on political support in
the target country. This issue can be alleviated by increased risk-sharing between
interested companies, acting in the strategic interest of the Union. Therefore, supportshould also be provided to enable businesses, including where they act as consortia,
without prejudice to the application of Article 101 of the Treaty, to access markets in third
countries that are not covered by a Strategic Partnership or a free trade agreement. Suchsupport can include providing a support network to help them with establishing contact in
the relevant third country and gathering information on local and regional
circumstances.
(55)

In order to support the implementation of tasks pertaining to the development of Strategic
Projects and their financing, exploration programmes, monitoring capacities or strategic
stocks and to advise the Commission appropriately, a European Critical Raw Materials
Board should be established. The Board should be composed of Member States and of theCommission, while being able to ensure participation of other parties as observers, notably
the European Parliament. . To develop the necessary expertise for the implementation ofcertain tasks, the Board should establish standing sub-groups on financing, public
acceptance, exploration, monitoring and, strategic stocks as well as one on circularity,
resource efficiency and substitution, that should act as a network by gathering the different
relevant national authorities and, when necessary, consult industry, academia, civil society
and other relevant stakeholders. The Board’s advice and opinions should be non-binding andthe absence of such an advice or opinion should not prevent the Commission fromperforming its tasks under this Regulation.

(56)

The absence of progress towards the objectives, including the capacity and diversification
benchmarks, may indicate the need for adopting additional measures. The Commission
should therefore monitor the progress towards those objectives.

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(57)

To keep administrative burden put on Member States to a minimum, the different reporting
obligations should be streamlined, and the Commission should develop a template allowing
Member States to fulfil their reporting obligations on projects, exploration, monitoring or
strategic stocks within a regularly published single document, that may be confidential or
restricted.

(58)

In order to ensure trustful and constructive cooperation of competent authorities at Unionand national levels, all parties involved in the application of this Regulation should respect
the confidentiality of information and data obtained in carrying out their tasks. The
Commission and the national competent authorities, their officials, civil servants and otherpersons working under the supervision of these authorities as well as officials and civil
servants of other authorities of the Member States should not disclose information acquiredor exchanged by them pursuant to this Regulation and of the kind covered by the obligationof professional secrecy. This should also apply to the European Critical Raw Materials
Board. The data should be handled and stored in a secure environment.

(59)

When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, it is of particular importancethat the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work,
including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with theprinciples laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better LawMaking18. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, theEuropean Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member
States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission
expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

18

OJ L123, 12.5. 2016, p. 1.

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(60)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation,
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards: (a) specifying thetemplates to be used for applications for recognition of Strategic Projects, progress reports
related to Strategic Projects, the national exploration programmes, and the reporting ofMember States pertaining to exploration, monitoring, strategic stocks and circularity; (b)specifying which products, components and waste streams shall be considered to have ahigh critical raw materials recovery potential; and (c) determining the criteria and theirapplication for the recognition of schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw
materials. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council19.

(61)

To ensure that the obligations imposed under this Regulation are complied with, ▌companies that do not comply with their obligation, including on risk preparedness, project
reporting and recyclability information, should be subject to penalties. It is therefore
necessary that Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties innational law for failure to comply with this Regulation. It is also necessary for Member
States to ensure that projects promoters have access to, where relevant, administrative or
judicial review in accordance with national law.

19

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms forcontrol by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55,
28.2.2011, p. 13-18).

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(62)

The Commission should carry out an evaluation of this Regulation. Pursuant to paragraph 22of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that evaluation should be basedon the five criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added
and should provide the basis for impact assessments of possible further measures. The
Commission should submit to the European Parliament, to the Council and the European
Economic and Social Committee, a report on the implementation of this Regulation andprogress towards achieving its objectives, including the capacity and diversification
benchmarks. The report should also, based on the implementation of the measures related
the transparency of the environmental footprint of critical raw materials, assess theappropriateness of establishing maximum thresholds related to the environmental footprint.
The Commission should also evaluate the need for benchmarks targeting 2040 and 2050
and for individual strategic raw materials, the consistency between the Union
environmental legislation and this regulation, in particular in relation to the priority
status of the strategic projects, the impact of the Joint purchasing system set up pursuant
to Article 24 on competition in the internal market and the appropriateness of establishingfurther measures to increase the collection, sorting and processing of waste, in particularwith a view to metal scraps.

(63)

To the extent that any of the measures envisaged by the present Regulation constitute Stateaid, the provisions concerning such measures are without prejudice to the application of
Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty.

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(64)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to improve the functioning of internalmarket establishing a framework to ensure the Union's access to a secure and sustainablesupply of critical raw materials, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but
can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, only be achieved at Union level, the Union may
adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of theTreaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set
out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achievethat objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Chapter 1
General provisions
Article 1
Subject matter and objectives
1.

The general objective of this Regulation is to improve the functioning of the internalmarket by establishing a framework to ensure the Union's access to a secure, resilient andsustainable supply of critical raw materials, including by fostering efficiency andcircularity throughout the value chain.

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2.

To achieve the general objective referred to in paragraph 1, this Regulation lays down
measures aimed at:(a)lowering the risk of supply disruptions related to critical raw materials likely to
distort competition and fragment the internal market, in particular by identifying
and supporting strategic projects that contribute to lowering dependencies anddiversifying imports and by undertaking efforts to incentivise technologicalprogress and resource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase inUnion consumption of critical raw materials;
▌
▌
▌

▌
(c)

improving the Union's ability to monitor and mitigate the supply risk related to
critical raw materials;(d)ensuring the free movement of critical raw materials and products containing criticalraw materials placed on the Union market while ensuring a high level ofenvironmental protection and sustainability, including by improving their circularity▌.

▌▌

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Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:(1)‘raw material’ means a substance in processed or unprocessed state used as an input for the
manufacturing of intermediate or final products, excluding substances predominantly used
as food, feed or combustion fuel;(2)‘critical raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 4;(3)‘strategic raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 3;(4)‘raw materials value chain’ means all activities and processes involved in the exploration,
extraction, processing and recycling of raw materials;(5)‘exploration’ means all activities aimed at identifying and establishing the properties ofmineral occurrences;(6)‘extraction’ means the ▌ extraction of ores, minerals and plant products from their original
source as a main product or as a by-product, including from a mineral occurrence
underground, mineral occurrence under and from water, sea brine and trees;(7)‘Union extraction capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production
volumes of extractive operations for ores, minerals, plant products and concentrates
containing strategic raw materials, including processing operations that are typicallylocated at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;(7a)‘mineral occurrences’ means any single mineral or combination of minerals occurringin a mass or deposit of potential economic interest;(8)‘reserves’ means all mineral occurrences that are economically viable to extract at a given
market context;

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(9)

‘processing’ means all physical, chemical and biological processes involved in thetransformation of a raw material from ores, minerals, plant products or waste into puremetals, alloys or other economically usable forms, including but not limited tobeneficiation, separation, smelting and refining, and excluding metal working andfurther transformation into intermediate and final goods;(10)‘Union processing capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production
volumes of processing operations for strategic raw materials, excluding such operations
that are typically located at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;(11)‘recycling’ means recycling within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(12)‘Union recycling capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production volumeof recycling operations for strategic raw materials after re-processing, including thesorting and pre-treatment of waste, and its processing into secondary raw materials, locatedin the Union;(13)‘annual consumption of strategic raw materials’ means an aggregate of the amount ofstrategic raw materials consumed by undertakings established in the Union in processed
form, excluding strategic raw materials incorporated in intermediate or final products
placed on the Union market;(14)‘supply risk’ means supply risk as calculated in line with Annex II;

(15)

▌

(15a)

‘critical raw material project’ means any planned facility or planned significant
extension or repurposing of an existing facility active in extraction, processing or
recycling of the critical raw materials as defined in Article 4;(16)‘off-taker’ means an undertaking that has entered into an off-take agreement with a project
promoter;

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(17)

‘off-take agreement’ means any contractual agreement between an undertaking and a
project promoter containing either a commitment on part of the undertaking to procure ashare of the raw materials produced by a specific raw material project over a certain periodof time or a commitment on part of the project promoter to provide the undertaking withthe option to do so;(18)‘project promoter’ means any undertaking or consortium of undertakings developing a raw
material project;(19)‘permit granting process’ means a process covering all relevant ▌ permits to ▌ build andoperate the critical raw material projects, including building, chemical and gridconnection permits and environmental assessments and authorisations where these are
required, and encompassing all ▌ applications and procedures from the acknowledgmentthat the application is complete to the notification of the comprehensive decision on theoutcome of the procedure by the responsible Point of single contact referred to in Article
8(1);

(20)

‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken by Member Stateauthorities ▌ that determines whether or not a project promoter is authorised to implementa raw material project, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an ▌appeal procedure;(20a)‘national programme‘ means a national programme or a compiled set of programmes,
covering the entire territory, prepared and adopted by national and regional authorities;(21)‘general exploration’ means exploration at national or regional level, not including targeted
exploration;(22)‘targeted exploration’ means the detailed investigation of an individual mineral occurrence;

(23)

▌

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(24)

‘predictive map’ means a map indicating areas that are likely to contain mineraloccurrences of a given raw material;(25)‘supply disruption’ means the unexpected significant decrease in the availability of a raw
material or significant increase in the price of a raw material beyond normal market pricevolatility;(26)‘raw materials supply chain’ means all activities and processes of the raw materials value
chain up to the point where a raw material is used as an input for the manufacturing ofintermediate or final products;(27)‘mitigation strategies’ means the policies developed by an economic operator to limit thelikelihood of a supply disruption to its supply chain or to mitigate the damages caused bysuch a disruption to its economic activity;(28)‘key market operators’ means undertakings in the Union’s critical raw materials supply
chain and downstream companies consuming critical raw materials, the reliable
functioning of which is essential for the supply of critical raw materials;(29)‘strategic stock’ means a quantity of a particular raw material in whichever form that isstored by a public or private operator with a view to releasing it in the event of a supply
disruption;(30)‘large company’ means any company that had more than 500 employees on average andhad a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 150 million in the last financial year forwhich annual financial statements have been prepared;(31)‘strategic technologies’ means the key technologies instrumental for the green and digitaltransitions as well as for defence and aerospace applications;

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(32)

‘board of directors’ means the administrative or supervisory body responsible forsupervising the executive management of the company, or, if no such body exists, theperson or persons performing equivalent functions;(32a)‘waste’ means waste within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(33)‘collection’ means collection within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(34)‘treatment’ means treatment within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(35)‘recovery’ means recovery within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(35a)‘re-use’ means re-use within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(36)‘extractive waste’ means extractive waste within the meaning of Directive 2006/21/EC;(37)‘extractive waste facility’ means waste facility within the meaning of Directive
2006/21/EC;(38)‘preliminary economic assessment’ means an early-stage, conceptual assessment of thepotential economic viability of a raw material project for the recovery of critical raw
materials from extractive waste;(39)‘magnetic resonance imaging device’ means a non-invasive medical device that uses
magnetic fields to make anatomical images or any other device that uses magnetic fields tomake images of the inside of object;(40)‘wind energy generator’ means the part of an onshore or offshore wind turbine thatconverts the mechanical energy of the rotor into electrical energy;

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(41)

‘industrial robot’ means an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose
manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can either be fixed or mobile foruse in industrial automation applications;(42)‘motor vehicle’ means any type-approved vehicle of the M or N categories in the meaningof Regulation (EU) 2018/858;(43)‘light means of transport’ means any light wheeled vehicle that can be powered by theelectric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power, including electricscooters, electric bicycles and type-approved vehicles of category L in the meaning ofRegulation (EU) No 168/2013;(44)‘cooling generator’ means the part of a cooling system that generates a temperature
difference allowing heat extraction from the space or process to be cooled, using anelectric vapour compression cycle;(45)‘heat pump’ means the part of a heating system that generates a temperature difference
allowing heat supply to the space or process to be heated, using an electric vapour
compression cycle;(46)‘electric motor’ means a device that converts electrical input power into mechanical output
power in the form of a rotation with a rotational speed and torque that depends on
factors including the frequency of the supply voltage and number of poles of the motor,
and with a rated output equal to or above 0.12 kW;(47)‘automatic washing machine’ means a washing machine where the load is fully treated by
the washing machine without the need for user intervention at any point during the
programme;(48)‘tumble drier’ means an appliance in which textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating
drum through which heated air is passed;

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(49)

‘microwave’ means any appliance intended to be used for the heating of food using
electromagnetic energy;(50)‘vacuum cleaner’ means an appliance that removes soil from a surface to be cleaned bymeans of an airflow created by underpressure developed within the unit;(51)‘dishwasher’ means a machine which cleans and rinses tableware;(52)‘permanent magnet’ means a magnet that retains its magnetism after being removed froman external magnetic field;(53)‘data carrier’ means a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or otherautomatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device;(54)‘unique product identifier’ means a unique string of characters for the identification of
products;(55)‘magnet coating’ means a layer of material generally used to protect magnets fromcorrosion;(56)‘removal’ means manual, mechanical, chemical, thermal or metallurgic handling with theresult that the targeted components or materials are identifiable as a separate output stream
or part of an output stream;(57)‘recycler’ means any natural or legal person who carries out recycling in a permitted
facility;(58)‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution,
consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in
return for payment or free of charge;

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(59)

‘critical raw material type’ means a critical raw material placed on the market that isdifferentiated by its stage of processing, its chemical composition, its geographical origin
or the production methods used;(60)‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market;(61)‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether the requirements set out
Article 27, 28 or 34 have been fulfilled;(62)‘Strategic Partnership’ means a commitment between the Union and a third country, orOverseas Countries and Territories (OCT) to increase cooperation related to the raw
materials value chain that is established through a non-binding instrument setting out
concrete actions of mutual interest, which facilitate beneficial outcomes for both partners.

(62a)‘multi-stakeholder governance’ means a formal, meaningful, and substantive role ofmultiple types of stakeholders, including at least civil society, in the decision-making of
the scheme, documented by way of a mandate, terms of reference or other evidence,
which confirms or supports the involvement of the multi-stakeholder representatives ofthe scheme.

Chapter 2
Critical and strategic raw materials
Article 3
List of strategic raw materials
1.

The raw materials listed in Annex I, Section 1 shall, including in unprocessed form, at
any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction,
processing or recycling processes, be considered strategic raw materials.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex I, Section 1 in order to update the list of strategic raw materials.
An updated list of strategic raw materials shall include, from among the raw materials
assessed, the raw materials that score among the highest in terms of strategic importance,
forecasted demand growth and difficulty of increasing production. The strategic
importance, projected demand growth and difficulty of increasing production shall be
determined in accordance with Annex I, Section 2.

3.

The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of strategic raw materials
by [OP please insert: three years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], andevery three years thereafter. Upon request by the Board on the basis of monitoring andstress testing in accordance with this Regulation, the Commission shall review and,
where appropriate, update the list at any time in addition to the regular reviews.

3a.

As part of the first update of the list pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall inparticular assess whether, based on its assessment in accordance with Annex I, Section 2
and paragraph 2, synthetic graphite should remain in the list of strategic raw materials.
Article 4
List of critical raw materials

1.

The raw materials listed in Annex II, Section 1, shall, including in unprocessed form, at
any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction,
processing or recycling processes, be considered critical raw materials.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex II, Section 1 in order to update the list of critical raw materials.
An updated list of critical raw materials shall include the strategic raw materials listed in
Annex I, Section 1 as well as any other raw material that reaches or exceeds the thresholds
for both economic importance and supply risk referred to in paragraph 3. Economic
importance and supply risk shall be calculated in accordance with Annex II, Section 2.

3.

The thresholds shall be 1 for supply risk and 2.8 for economic importance.

4.

The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update, in accordance with paragraph 2,
the list of critical raw materials by [OP please insert: three years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation], and at least every 3 years thereafter.

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ENChapter 3
Strengthening the Union raw materials value chain
SECTION 1
STRATEGIC PROJECTS

Article 4a
Benchmarks
1.

The Commission and Member States shall strengthen the different stages of the value
chain of strategic raw materials through the measures within this Chapter in order to:(a)ensure that, by 2030, Union capacities for each strategic raw material havesignificantly increased so that, overall, Union capacity approaches or reaches thefollowing benchmarks:(i)Union extraction capacity is able to extract the ores, minerals or concentrates
needed to produce at least 10% of the Union's annual consumption ofstrategic raw materials, to the extent that the Union’s reserves allow for this;(ii)

Union processing capacity, including for all intermediate processing steps, isable to produce at least 40% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic
raw materials;(iii) Union recycling capacity, including for all intermediate recycling steps, isable to produce at least 25% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic
raw materials and is able to recycle significantly increasing amounts of eachstrategic raw material in waste.

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(b)

diversify the Union's imports of strategic raw materials with a view to ensure that,by 2030, the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any
relevant stage of processing can rely on imports from several third countries, noneof which provide more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption.

2.

The Commission and Member States shall undertake efforts to incentivise technologicalprogress and resource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase in Union
consumption of critical raw materials below the reference projection referred to in
Article 42(-1) through the relevant measures set out in this Section and Section 1 ofChapter V.

3

By 1 January 2027, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with
Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by providing for Union recycling capacity
benchmarks expressed as a share of the strategic raw materials available in relevant
waste streams.
For this purpose, the delegated shall specify the waste streams and the strategic raw
materials within them for which sufficient information on the relevant waste volumes
and their strategic raw material content is available based on the reporting requirementsof Directive 2000/53 (End-of-Life Vehicles Directive), Directive 2008/98/EC (Waste
Framework Directive), Directive 2012/19/EU (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Directive) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Batteries Regulation) to allow
for estimating the Union’s recycling capacity as a share of the strategic raw materials
contained in the relevant waste streams.
In addition, the delegated act shall set a Union recycling capacity benchmark based on
the recycling capacity for each strategic raw material in the relevant waste streams
identified pursuant to subparagraph 2.

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The Commission shall define the level of the recycling capacity referred to in
subparagraph 3 based on the following elements:(a)current Union recycling capacity expressed as a share of the strategic raw
materials available in relevant waste streams;(b)

the extent to which strategic raw materials can be recovered from those waste
streams, taking into account technological and economic feasibility;(c)other targets set in other Union legislation relevant to the recovery of strategic raw
materials from waste.

The Commission is empowered to update the delegated act if as a result of theassessment referred to in Article 46(1a), information becomes available on the relevant
waste volumes and strategic raw material content of further waste streams.
Article 5
Criteria for recognition of Strategic Projects
1.

Following an application of the project promoter and in accordance with the procedure
established in Article 6, the Commission shall recognise as Strategic Projects raw material
projects that meet the following criteria:(a)the project would make a meaningful contribution to the security of the Union's
supply of strategic raw materials;(b)

the project is or will become technically feasible within a reasonable timeframe andthe expected production volume of the project can be estimated with a sufficientlevel of confidence;

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2.

(c)

the project would be implemented sustainably, in particular as regards themonitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the prevention
and minimisation of socially adverse impacts through the use of socially
responsible practices including respect of human, indigenous peoples’ and labour
rights, in particular in case of involuntary resettlement, quality jobs potential andmeaningful engagement with local communities and relevant social partners, and theuse of transparent business practices with adequate compliance policies to preventand minimise risks of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public
administration, including corruption and bribery;(d)for projects in the Union, the establishment, operation or production of the project
would have cross-border benefits beyond the Member State concerned, including fordownstream sectors;(e)for projects in third countries that are emerging markets or developing economies,
the project would be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country
concerned by adding value in that country.

The fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 shall be assessed by theCommission in accordance with the elements and evidence set out in Annex III.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex III in order to adapt the elements and evidence to be taken into accountwhen assessing the fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 to technicaland scientific progress or to take into account changes to the Union legislation orinternational instruments listed in Annex III, point 4, or the adoption of additional Union
legislation or international instruments relevant for the fulfilment of the criterion referred
to in paragraph 1, point (c).

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3.

The recognition of a project as a Strategic Project shall not affect the requirements
applicable to the relevant project or project promoter under international, Union or nationallaw.
Article 6
Application and recognition

1.

Applications for recognition of a raw material project as a Strategic Project shall be
submitted by the project promoter to the Commission. The application shall include:(a)relevant evidence related to fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Article 5(1);(b)

a classification of the project according to the United Nations Framework
Classification for Resources, supported by appropriate evidence;(c)a timetable for the implementation of the project, including an overview of thepermits required for the project and the status of the corresponding permit granting
process;(d)a plan containing measures to facilitate public acceptance including, whereappropriate, measures to facilitate the meaningful involvement and active
participation of affected communities, the establishment of recurrent
communication channels with ▌ local communities, organisations, including social
partners, and authorities, and the implementation of awareness-raising andinformation campaigns and potential mitigation and compensation mechanisms;

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(da) for projects with the potential to affect indigenous peoples, a plan containing
measures dedicated to the meaningful consultation of the affected indigenous
peoples about the prevention and minimisation of the adverse impacts on
indigenous rights and, where appropriate, fair compensation of those peoples, aswell as measures to address the outcomes of the consultation. If the national law of
the country whose territory is concerned by the project contains provisions for the
aforementioned consultation and provided that the consultation covers all thoseaims, the plan may be adjusted accordingly;(e)information on the control of the undertakings involved in the project, defined
pursuant to Article 3(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, and, incase multiple undertakings are involved, information outlining the relative
involvement of each undertaking in the project;(f)a business plan evaluating the financial viability of the project;(g)

an estimate of the project’s potential for quality job creation and the project’s needs
in terms of skilled workforce and a work plan to support upskilling and reskillingand promote inclusive representation of the workforce;(ga) for projects in third countries or OCTs involving extraction, a plan to improve theenvironmental state of the affected sites after the end of exploitation, with a view torestoring the prior environmental state while taking into account technical andeconomic feasibility.
(gb) for projects related exclusively to processing or recycling located in areas protectedunder Council Directive 92/43/EEC or Directive 2009/147/EC, a description of thetechnically appropriate alternative locations, assessed by the project promoter, andwhy they are not considered appropriate for the location of the project.

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2.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing a single template to be
used by project promoters for the applications referred to in paragraph 1 by [OP please
insert: 6 months after the entry into force of this Regulation]. The template may indicate
how the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. This implementing act
shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
The extent of documentation required in the single template referred to in the firstsubparagraph shall be reasonable.

2a.

The Commission shall assess the applications referred to in paragraph 1 through an
open call with regular cut-off dates. The Commission shall set cut-off dates at least 4
times per year. The first cut-off date shall be set no later than [OP please insert: 3
months after the entry into force of this Regulation].

3.

The Commission shall inform applicants within 30 days after the applicable cut-off date
if it considers the information provided in the application complete. If the application isincomplete, the Commission may request the applicant to submit the additional
information required to complete the application without undue delay. In that case, theCommission shall specify which additional information is required.

3a.

The Commission shall inform the European Critical Raw Materials Board referred to in
Article 34 ('the Board') of all applications that are considered complete in accordancewith the first subparagraph.

4.

The Board shall meet at regular intervals in line with Article [35(xx)] to, based on a fair
and transparent process, discuss and issue an opinion on whether the proposed projects
fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1). The Commission shall provide the Board with its
assessment of whether the proposed projects fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1) inadvance of the meetings referred to in the first subparagraph.

4a.

The Commission shall transmit the full application to the Member State, third country or
OCT whose territory is concerned by a proposed project.

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5.

Where the Member State whose territory is concerned by a proposed project objects togranting the proposed project strategic status, the project shall not be considered for the
status of Strategic Project. The Member State concerned shall present substantiatedreasons for doing so during the discussion referred to in paragraph 4.
For Strategic Projects in third countries, or OCTs, the Commission shall share theapplication received with the third country whose territory is concerned by the proposed
project. The Commission shall not approve the application before receiving the explicit
approval of the relevant third country.

6.

The Commission shall, taking account of the Board's opinion referred to in paragraph 4,
adopt its decision on the recognition of the project as Strategic Project within 90 days ofacknowledging the completeness of the application in accordance with paragraph 3 andshall notify the applicant thereof.
The Commission's decision shall be reasoned and duly justified. The Commission shallshare its decision with the Board and the Member State or third country whose territory
is concerned by the project ▌ .

7.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity or size of an application so require or
where the number of applications received before a particular cut-off date is too high toprocess an application within the time limit referred to in paragraph 6, the Commission
may, on a case-by-case basis and no later than 20 days before its expiry, extend that time
limit by a maximum of 90 days. In that event, the Commission shall inform the project
promoter of the reasons justifying the extension and of the date when the decision is
expected in writing.
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8.

Where the Commission finds that a Strategic Project no longer fulfils the criteria set out in
Article 5(1) or where its recognition was based on an application containing informationthat is incorrect to the extent that it affects its compliance with the criteria of the Article
5 (1), it may, taking into account the opinion of the Board, repeal the decision granting a
project the status of Strategic Project.
Before adopting a decision to repeal that status, the Commission shall provide the project
promoter with reasons for the decision to repeal, the project promoter shall be given theopportunity to reply and the Commission shall take into account the project promoter's
reply.

9.

Projects which are no longer recognised as Strategic Projects shall lose all rights connectedto that status under this Regulation.

9a.

Strategic Projects that no longer fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1) solely due to an
update of Annex I shall be allowed to maintain their status as Strategic Project for 3
years.
Article 7
Reporting and information obligations for Strategic Projects

1.

▌

2.

▌

3.

▌

4.

▌

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5.

The project promoter shall, every two years after the date of recognition as a Strategic
Project, submit a report to the Commission containing information on at least:(a)

progress in the implementation of the project, in particular with regard to the permit
granting process;(b)where relevant, reasons for delays compared to the timetable referred to in Article
6(1), point (c) and a plan to overcome such delays;(c)progress in financing the project, including information on public financial support.

The Commission shall submit a copy of the report to the Board, to facilitate thediscussion referred to in paragraph 4.
6.

The Commission may request additional information from project promoters relevant to
the implementation of the Strategic Project where necessary to ascertain the continued
fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 5(1).

7.

The project promoter shall notify the Commission of:

8.

(a)

changes to the project affecting its fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 5(1);(b)

changes in control of the undertakings involved in the project on a lasting basis,compared to the information referred to in Article 6(1), point (e).

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template to be
used by project promoters for the reports referred to in paragraph 5. The template may
indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 5 shall be expressed. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred toin Article 37(2).
Those implementing acts shall provide for a single template to cover all information
required for the report. The extent of documentation specified in the single template
shall be reasonable.

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9.

The project promoter shall establish and regularly update the company website or a
dedicated project website with information relevant to the local population and to foster
public acceptance about the Strategic Project, including at least information on theenvironmental and social and economic impacts and benefits associated with the Strategic
Project. The website shall be freely accessible to the public and shall be available in alanguage or languages that can be easily understood by the local population.

SECTION 2
PERMIT GRANTING PROCESS

Article 8
Point of single contact
1.

By [OP please insert: 9 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation],
Member States shall set up or designate one or more authorities as Points of Single
Contact. In case a Member State sets up or designates multiple Points of Single Contact,
it shall ensure that there is only one Point of Single Contact per relevant administrative
level and stage of the critical raw materials value chain.

1a.

In case of multiple Points of Single Contact, Member States shall provide a simple,
accessible website on which all Points of Single Contact, including their address andelectronic means of communication, are clearly listed and categorized per relevant
administrative level as well as stage of the critical raw materials value chain. The
website may also contain content provided in accordance with Article 17.

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2.

The Points of Single Contact referred to in paragraph 1 shall be responsible forfacilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process for critical raw material
projects and providing information on the elements referred to in Article 17, including
information on when an application is considered to be completed according to Article
10(5). They shall coordinate and facilitate the submission of any relevant documents andinformation.

2a.

The Points of Single Contact shall be the sole point of contact for the project promoter
and assist the project promoter in understanding any administrative matter relevant to
the permit granting process.

2b.

Project promoters of critical raw materials projects shall have the possibility to contact
the relevant administrative unit within the Point of Single Contact responsible formanaging the tasks specified in this article. If the relevant unit changes, the relevant
unit shall continue to fulfil its responsibilities set out in this paragraph until the project
promoter has been notified of such a change.

3.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

4.

Project promoters shall be allowed to submit all documents relevant to the permit granting
process in electronic form.

5.

The Member States shall ensure that any valid studies, permits or authorisations issued or
conducted for a given critical raw material project are taken into account and that no
duplicate studies, permits or authorisations are required, unless otherwise required undernational or Union law.

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6.

Member States shall ensure that applicants have easy access to information on and ▌procedures for the settlement of disputes concerning the permit granting process ▌ forcritical raw materials projects, including, where applicable, alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms.

7.

Member States shall ensure that the Point of Single Contact referred to in paragraph 1
have a sufficient number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical andtechnological resources necessary ▌ for the effective performance of its tasks under thisRegulation.

8.

▌
▌
▌
Article 9
Priority status of Strategic Projects-1.

Strategic Projects shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply of strategic
raw materials in the Union.

-1a.

With regard to the environmental impacts or obligations addressed in Articles 6(4) and16(1)(c) of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article 9(1)(a)of Directive 2009/147/EC or in Articles [4(8) and 4(8a)] of the Nature Restoration
Regulation, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be considered as being of public
interest or serving public health and safety, and may be considered as having anoverriding public interest provided that all the conditions set out in those acts are
fulfilled.

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1.

For the purpose of ensuring efficient administrative processing of the permitting processes
related to Strategic Projects in the Union, project promoters and all authorities concerned
shall ensure that those processes are treated in the most rapid way possible in accordancewith Union and national law.

2.

Without prejudice to obligations provided for in Union law, Strategic Projects in the Union
shall be granted the status of the highest national significance possible, where such a statusexists in national law, and be treated accordingly in the permit granting processes.

3.

All dispute resolution procedures, litigation, appeals and judicial remedies related to thepermit-granting process and the issuance of permits for Strategic Projects in the Union in
front of any national courts, tribunals, panels, including mediation or arbitration, where
they exist in national law, shall be treated as urgent, if and to the extent to which nationallaw provides for such urgency procedures and provided that the normally applicable rights
of defence of individuals or of local communities would be respected. Project promoters ofStrategic Projects shall participate in such urgency procedure, where applicable.
Article 10
Duration of the permit granting process

1.

2.

For Strategic Projects in the Union, the permit granting process shall not exceed:(a)27 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;(b)

15 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.

For Strategic Projects in the Union that had entered in the permit granting process before
being granted the status of Strategic Project and for expansions of Strategic Projects
already granted with a permit, the duration of the remaining steps of the permit granting
process after the project is granted strategic status shall, in derogation from paragraph 1,
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(a)

24 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;(b)

12 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.

(ba) Where an environmental impact assessment is required pursuant to Directive
2011/92/EU, the step of the assessment referred to in Article 1 (2)(g) (i) of that
Directive shall not be included in the duration for permit granting process referred
to in paragraph 1 and 2.
3.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed projectso require, the Member State may extend the time limits referred to in paragraph 1, point(a), and 2, point (a), by a maximum of 6 months and the time limits referred to inparagraph 1, point (b), and 2, point (b), by a maximum of 3 months, before their expiry
and on a case-by-case basis. In that event, the designated Point of Single Contact referred
to in Article 8(1) shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying the extension
and of the date when the comprehensive decision is expected in writing.

4.

By way of derogation from Article 4(6) of Directive 2011/92/EU, the determination ofwhether the project shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5
to 10 of the abovementioned Directive, shall be made within 30 days from the date on
which the developer has submitted all the information required pursuant to article 4(4) of
the abovementioned Directive.

5.

No later than 45 days following the receipt of a permit granting application related to aStrategic Project, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shallacknowledge that the application is complete or ▌ if the project promoter has not sent all
the information required to process an application, request the project promoter to submit acomplete application without undue delay, detailing which information is missing. In
case the submitted application is deemed incomplete a second time, the designated Pointof Single Contact shall not request information in areas not covered in the first request
for additional information and may only request further evidence to complete theidentified missing information.

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The date of the acknowledgement ▌ referred to in the first subparagraph shall serve as thestart of the permit granting process.
6.

No later than one month following the date of ▌ acknowledgement referred to inparagraph 5, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall draw
up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned, adetailed schedule for the permit granting process. The schedule shall be published by ▌ theproject promoter on the website referred to in Article 7(7) on a free access website. The
designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall update the timetable incase of significant changes potentially affecting the timing of the comprehensive
decision.

6a.

The designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall notify the project
promoter when the environmental impact assessment report referred in Article 5(1) of
Directive 2011/92/EU is due, taking into account the organisation of the permit granting
process in the relevant Member State and the need to allow sufficient time to assess thereport. The period as from the date the environmental impact assessment report is due
until the submission of that report shall not be counted towards the duration of thepermit granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

6b.

Where the consultation according to article 1(2)(g)(ii) of Directive 2011/92/EU results inthe need to supplement the environmental impact assessment report with additional
information, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) may givethe project promotor the opportunity to submit additional information. In such a case,the designated Point of Single Contact shall notify the project promoter when the
additional information is due, which shall be in no less than 30 days after the
notification. The period as from the date the additional information is due until thesubmission of that information shall not be counted towards the duration of the permit
granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

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7.

The time limits set in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising from
Union and international law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal procedures andjudicial remedies before a court or tribunal.
The time limits set in this Article for any of the permit granting procedures shall be without
prejudice to any shorter time limits set by Member States.

Article 11
Environmental assessments and authorisations
1.

Where an environmental impact assessment is required for a Strategic Project inaccordance with Articles 5 to 9 of Directive 2011/92/EU, the relevant project promoter
shall request, no later than 30 days after the notification of the recognition as Strategic
Project and before submitting the application, an opinion to the designated point of
single contact on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in theenvironmental impact assessment report under Article 5(1) of that Directive.
The designated Point of Single Contact shall ensure that the opinion referred to in the firstsubparagraph is issued as soon as possible and within a period of time not exceeding 45
days from the date on which the project promoter submitted its request.

2.

In the case of Strategic Projects for which the obligation to carry out assessments of theeffects on the environment arises simultaneously from Council Directive 92/43/EEC,
Directives 2000/60/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2009/147/EC 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or
2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and the Council, the Member State shall ensurethat a coordinated or a joint procedure fulfilling all the requirements of that Union
legislation is applied.

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Under the coordinated procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the ▌ competentauthority ▌ shall coordinate the various individual assessments of the environmental
impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislation.
Under the joint procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the ▌ competent authority▌ shall provide for a single assessment of the environmental impact of a particular projectrequired by the relevant Union legislation.
3.

The ▌ competent authority ▌ shall ensure that the authorities concerned issue the reasoned
conclusion referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(iv) of Directive 2011/92/EU on theenvironmental impact assessment of a Strategic Project shall be issued within 90 days ofreceiving all necessary information gathered pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of that
Directive and completing the consultations referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of that Directive.

3a.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed
project so require, the competent authority may extend the time limit referred to inparagraph 3 of this Article by a maximum of 20 days, before its expiry and on a case-bycase basis. In that event, the point of single contact referred in Article 8(1) shall informthe project promoter of the reasons justifying the extension and of the date when thereasoned conclusion is expected in writing.

4.

In the case of Strategic Projects, the timeframe for consulting the public concerned as
referred to in Article 1(2)(e) of Directive 2011/92/EU and authorities referred to in
Article 6(1) of that Directive on the environmental impact assessment report referred to in
Article 5(1) of that Directive shall not be longer than 85 days and not shorter than 30days in accordance with article 6(7) of the above mentioned Directive. In exceptional
cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed project so require,
the Member State may extend the timeline by a maximum of 40 additional days. The
point of single contact shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying theextension.

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5.

Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the permit granting process for Strategic
Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before the being granted the statusof Strategic Project.
Paragraphs 2 to 4 of this Article shall apply to the permit granting process for Strategic
Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before being granted the status ofStrategic Project only to the extent that the steps addressed in those paragraphs have notyet been completed.

Article 12
Planning
1.

▌National, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing plans, including zoning,spatial plans and land use plans, shall consider including in such plans, where appropriate,
provisions for the development of critical raw materials projects. In doing so, priority shallbe given to artificial and built surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, active or
abandoned mines, including, where appropriate, identified mineral occurrences.

2.

Where plans including provisions for the development of critical raw material projects are
subject to an assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and pursuant to Article 6 of
Directive 92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where applicable, thiscombined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies ▌referred to in ▌ Directive 2000/60/EC ▌ . Where relevant Member States are required toassess the impacts of existing and future activities on the marine environment, including
land-sea interactions, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2014/89/EU, these impacts
shall also be covered by the combined assessment.

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ENArticle 13
Applicability of UNECE conventions
1.

The provisions set out in this Regulation are without prejudice to the obligations under ▌the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access toInformation, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice inEnvironmental Matters, signed at Aarhus on 25 June 1998, and under the UNECE
Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context, signed at
Espoo on 25 February 1991 and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment,
signed in Kyiv on 21 May 2003.

2.

All decisions adopted pursuant to this Section shall be made publicly available in an easily
understandable manner and all decisions concerning one project shall be available atthe same website.

SECTION 3
ENABLING CONDITIONSArticle 14
Accelerating implementation of Strategic Projects
1.

The Commission shall undertake activities, where appropriate in cooperation withMember States, to accelerate and crowd-in private investments in Strategic Projects. Such
activities may, without prejudice to Article 107 and Article 108 of the TFEU, include
providing and coordinating support to Strategic Projects facing difficulties in accessing
finance.

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2.

The Member State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project shall takemeasures to facilitate its timely and effective implementation. These measures may
include:(a)assistance to ensure compliance with applicable administrative and reporting
obligations.

(b)assistance to project promoters to further increase the meaningful involvement andactive participation of affected communities.
Article 15
Coordination of financing

1.

The standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (a) shall ▌ , at the request of a
project promoter of a Strategic Project, discuss and advise on how the financing of its
project can be completed, taking into account the funding already secured and considering
at least the following elements:(a)additional private sources of financing;(b)support through resources from the European Investment Bank Group or otherinternational financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, with a particular focus on the Global Gateway Initiative forStrategic Projects outside of the Union;(c)existing Member State instruments and programmes, including from export credit
agencies, national promotional banks and institutions;(d)relevant Union funding and financing programmes.

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1a.

The Commission shall, based on the advice of the standing sub-group referred to in
Article 35(6), submit, 2 years after entry into force of this Regulation, a report to theBoard describing obstacles to access to finance and recommendations to facilitate accessto finance for Strategic Projects.
Article 16
Facilitating off-take agreements

1.

The Commission shall set up a system to facilitate the conclusion of off-take agreements
related to Strategic Projects, in compliance with competition rules.

2.

The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow potential off-takers to make bids
indicating:

3.

(a)

the volume and quality of strategic raw materials they intend to purchase;(b)

the intended price or price range;(c)the intended duration of the off-take agreement.

The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow project promoters of Strategic Projects tomake offers indicating:(a)the volume and quality of strategic raw materials for which they are seeking toconclude off-take agreements;(b)

the intended price or price range at which they are willing to sell;(c)the intended duration of the off-take agreement.

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4.

Based on the bids and offers received pursuant to paragraph 2 and 3, the Commission shallbring project promoters of Strategic Projects in contact with potential off-takers relevant
for their project.
Article 17
Online accessibility of administrative information

1.

Member States shall provide the following information on administrative processes
relevant to critical raw material projects online, and in a centralised and easily accessible
manner:(-a) the information referred to in Article 8 paragraph 1a;

1a.

(a)

the permit-granting process and related administrative processes required for
obtaining the permit;(b)financing and investment services;(c)funding possibilities at Union or Member State level;(d)business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax declaration, local
tax laws, labour law.

The Commission shall, in a centralised and easily accessible manner, provide online
information on administrative processes relevant to obtaining the status of Strategic
Projects and on the benefits of such status .

SECTION 4
EXPLORATION

Article 18
National exploration programmes
1.

Each Member State shall draw up a national programme for general exploration targeted at
critical raw materials and carrier minerals of critical raw materials. Each Member State
shall draw up the first such programme by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry
into force of this Regulation]. The national programmes shall be reviewed and, if
necessary, updated, at least every 5 years.

2.

The national exploration programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall include measures toincrease available information on the Union’s critical raw material occurrences ▌ . They
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(b)

geochemical campaigns, including to establish the chemical compositions of soils,
sediments, rocks;(c)geoscientific surveys, such as geophysical surveys;(d)processing of the data gathered through general exploration, including through thedevelopment of predictive maps;

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(e)

reprocessing of existing geoscientific survey data to check for unidentified mineraloccurrences containing critical raw materials and carrier minerals of critical raw
materials.

(ea) Where a Member State’s geological conditions are so that, with a high degree ofcertainty, no deposits of critical raw materials or their carrier minerals will beidentified through the measures listed in paragraph 2, the national programme
referred to in paragraph 1 may consist of scientific evidence to that effect. Suchevidence shall be updated, in the context of the regular review of the national
programme, to reflect any changes in the list of critical raw materials.
3.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission their national programmes referred
to in paragraph 1.

4.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on
progress in the implementation of the measures included in their national programmes.

5.

Member States shall make maps showing basic information on ▌ mineral occurrences
containing critical raw materials, gathered through the measures set out in the national
programmes referred to in paragraph 1, publicly available on a free access website. This
information shall, where applicable, include the classification of the identified occurrencesusing the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources. More detailed
information, including processed geophysical and geochemical data at appropriate
resolution and large scale geological mapping, shall be made available upon request.
The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template formaking available the information referred to in the first subparagraph. The template may
indicate how the information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be expressed. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred toin Article 37(2).

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6.

Taking into consideration existing cooperation on general exploration, the standing subgroup referred to in Article 35(6), point (b) shall discuss the national programmes referred
to in paragraph 1 and their implementation, including at least:(a)the potential for cooperation, including on exploration of cross-border mineraloccurrences and common geological formations;(b)best practices related to the measures listed in paragraph 2;(c)the possibility to create an integrated database for storing the results of the national
programmes referred to in paragraph 1.

Chapter 4
Risk monitoring and mitigation
Article 19
Monitoring and stress testing
1.

The Commission shall monitor supply risks related to critical raw materials, in particular
those that would risk to distort competition or fragment the internal market.That
monitoring shall cover at least the evolution of the following parameters:(a)trade flows between the Union and third countries and within the single market;(b)demand and supply;(c)concentration of supply;(d)Union and global production and production capacities at different stages of thevalue chain.

(da) price volatility;

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(db) bottlenecks at any stages of Union production and permitting bottlenecks for
Strategic projects within the Union;(d1) potential obstacles to trade in raw materials or in goods that use critical raw
materials as input within the internal market.
2.

The national authorities participating in the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6)▌ (c) shall support the Commission in the monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 by:(a)sharing relevant information they have at their disposal on the evolution of theparameters listed in paragraph 1, except for Article 19(1), point (da), including theinformation referred to in Article 20;(b)gathering, in coordination with the Commission and the other participating
authorities, information on the evolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1,
including the information referred to in Article 20;(c)providing an analysis of the supply risks for critical raw materials in light of theevolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1.

(ca) informing the Commission without delay if the Member State becomes aware of arisk of serious disruption in the supply of critical raw materials.
3.

The Commission, in collaboration with the national authorities participating in the standing
sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c), shall ensure that a stress test is performed
for each strategic raw material’s supply chain at least every three years or if significant
increase in supply risks is detected as a result of the monitoring referred in paragraph 1.
To that end, the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c), shall coordinate
and divide the implementation of stress tests for the different strategic raw materials by thedifferent participating authorities.

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The stress tests referred to in the first subparagraph shall consist of an assessment of thevulnerability of the Union’s supply chain of the relevant strategic raw material to supply
disruptions by estimating the impact of different scenarios that may cause such disruptions
and their potential effects, taking into account at least the following elements:(a)where the raw material concerned is extracted, processed or recycled;(b)

the capacities of economic operators along the value chain as well as the market
structure;(c)factors that might affect supply, including but not limited to the geopoliticalsituation, logistics, energy supply, workforce or natural disasters;(d)the availability and ability to swiftly diversify supply sources, substitute materials or
mitigate the demand;(e)the users of the relevant raw material along the value chain and their share ofdemand, with special attention to the manufacturing of technologies relevant for thegreen and digital transitions as well as defence and aerospace applications.

(ea) potential obstacles to cross-border trade in relevant raw materials or in goods thatthat use raw materials as an input within the internal market.
4.

The Commission shall make publicly available on a free access website and regularly
update a monitoring dashboard containing:(a)aggregated information on the evolution of the parameters referred to in paragraph 1;(b)an aggregated description of calculation of the supply risk for critical raw materials
in light of the information referred to in point (a);

(c)

▌

(d)

where appropriate, general suggestions for suitable mitigation strategies to decrease
supply risk;

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ENunless it endangers the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive,
confidential and classified information.
5.

The Commission shall analyse the information gathered pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
Where the Commission, based on the analysis, considers that there a is clear indication of
the risk of a supply disruption likely to distort competition or fragment the internalmarket, the Commission shall alert Member States, the Board and the Union governancebodies of crisis vigilance or crisis management mechanisms whose scope covers relevant
critical or strategic raw materials. Where relevant, the Commission shall also assess
whether this risk requires an update of the list of strategic raw materials pursuant to
Article 3(3).
Article 20
Information obligations for monitoring

1.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information to
the Commission on ▌ new or existing critical raw material project on their territory that isrelevant regarding to Article 19(1), point (d), including a classification of new projects
according to the United Nations Framework Classification of Resources.

2.

Member States shall identify key market operators along the critical raw materials value
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monitor their activities by exploring publicly available data and if necessary,through regular and proportionate surveys with a view to gathering information
required for the monitoring tasks referred to in Article 19. Key market operators may
refuse to submit data requested in those surveys if sharing that data would lead tothe disclosure of trade and business secrets, and shall only fill out the survey to theextent the requested information is already available to them. If a key market
operator refuses to submit requested data, it shall present a justified notice to therequesting Member State.

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3.

(b)

as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on the results of
the information gathering pursuant to paragraph 2 (a);(c)

without delay notify the Commission of major events that may hinder the regular
operations of the activities of key market operators.

Member States shall transmit the data collected pursuant to paragraphs 2(a) and (b) of this
Article to national statistical authorities and to Eurostat for the purposes of compiling
statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament andof the Council. Member States shall designate the national authority responsible fortransmitting the data to national statistical offices and Eurostat.
Article 21
Reporting of strategic stocks

1.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, submit to theCommission information on the state of their strategic stocks of strategic raw materials.
Member States shall not be required to submit information regarding certain strategic
stocks when such information could compromise its defence and national security. In
this case, it shall present a justified notice.

2.

The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover stocks held by all public authorities,
publicly owned companies or economic operators charged by a Member State to build up
strategic stocks on its behalf and shall at least include a description of:(a)the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material, on an aggregated level,measured both in tonnes and as a percentage of annual national consumption of therelevant materials, as well as the chemical form and purity of the materials stocked;(b)the evolution of the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material, on an
aggregated level, over the preceding 5 years;

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(c)

any rules or procedures applicable to the release, allocation and distribution ofstrategic stocks;

unless it endangers the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive,
confidential and classified information.
3.

The report may also include information of strategic stocks of critical and other raw
materials.
Article 22
Coordination of strategic stocks

1.

2.

By [OP please complete: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] andevery 2 years after that, the Commission shall, based on the information received pursuant
to Article 21(1), share with the Board:(a)a draft benchmark indicating a safe level of Union stocks for each strategic raw
material, defined pursuant to paragraph 2;(b)a comparison of the overall level of Union stocks for each strategic raw material andthe draft benchmark referred to in point (a);(c)

information on the potential cross-border accessibility of strategic stocks, in light of
the rules or procedures for their release, allocation and distribution.

The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board ▌ shall adopt a benchmark
indicating a safe level of Union stocks of strategic raw materials, which shall:(a)be expressed as the amount needed to cover an amount of days of average daily net
imports in case of a supply disruption, calculated on the basis of the amount ofimports during the previous calendar year;(b)take into account publicly available information on stocks held by private operators▌;

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(c)
3.

be proportionate to the supply risk and economic importance associated with therelevant strategic raw material.

The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board, may issue opinions addressed
to Member States:(a)to increase the level of strategic stocks, and where applicable, production
capabilities, taking into account the comparison referred to in paragraph 1, point (b),the relative distribution of existing stocks among Member States and theconsumption of strategic raw materials by economic operators in the Member States'
respective territories;(b)

to amend or coordinate the rules or procedures for the release, allocation anddistribution of strategic stocks in order to improve the potential cross-borderaccessibility, in particular where necessary for the production of strategic
technologies.

4.

In preparing opinions referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission and the Board shall give
particular weight to the need to maintain and promote incentives for private operators,
which rely on strategic raw materials as inputs, to constitute their own stocks or to takeother measures to manage their exposure to supply risks.

5.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information onwhether and how they have implemented or intend to implement the opinions referred to inparagraph 3.

6.

Ahead of the participation of at least two Member States in international or multilateralfora in the areas of strategic stocks for strategic raw materials, the Commission shallensure a prior coordination either between the Member States concerned and theCommission or by a dedicated meeting of the Board.

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7.

The data collected on the available Union stocks shall be provided by the Commission to
the Union governance bodies responsible for crisis vigilance or crisis management
mechanisms covering relevant strategic raw materials.

7a.

No provisions under this Article and Article 21 shall constitute an obligation for
Member State to hold or release strategic stocks.
Article 23
Company risk preparedness ▌1.

Within 12 months of entry into force of this Regulation and within 12 months of each
update of the strategic raw materials list in accordance with Article 3, Member Statesshall identify the large companies operative on their territory that use strategic raw
materials to manufacture batteries for energy storage and e-mobility, equipment related
to hydrogen production and utilisation, equipment related to renewable energy
generation, aircrafts, traction motors, heat pumps, data transmission and storage,
mobile electronic devices, equipment related to additive manufacturing, robotics, drones,
rocket launchers, satellites or advanced chips.
▌

2.

▌Companies referred to under paragraph 1 shall, at least every 3 years and to the extent
the required information is available to them perform a risk assessment of their supply
chain of strategic raw materials, including:(a)a mapping of where the strategic raw materials they use are extracted, processed or
recycled;(b)an analysis of the factors that might affect their supply of strategic raw materials;(ba) an assessment of their vulnerabilities to supply disruptions.

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2a.

Where the information referred to in paragraph 2 is not made available to the companies
referred to in paragraph 1 by their suppliers upon request, they may perform their risk
assessment on the basis of the information published by the Commission pursuant toarticle 19(4), or otherwise publicly available information, to the extent possible.

2b.

If significant vulnerabilities to supply disruptions are detected as a result of the risk
assessment referred to in paragraph 2, companies referred to under paragraph 1 shalltake efforts to mitigate these vulnerabilities, including by assessing the possibility todiversify its supply chains or to substitute the strategic raw materials.

2c.

Companies referred to under paragraph 1 may present a report containing the results of
the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 2, including the source of the information
on which the assessment is based any significant risks detected as well as mitigation
measures envisioned or implemented to their board of directors.

3.

Member States may require companies referred to in paragraph 1 to present to their boardof directors the report referred to in paragraph 2 and the requests for informationreferred to in paragraph 3.
Article 24
Joint purchasing

1.

The Commission shall set up and operate a system to aggregate the demand of interested
undertakings consuming strategic raw materials established in the Union and ▌ seek offersfrom suppliers to match that aggregated demand. This shall cover both unprocessed andprocessed strategic raw materials.

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1a.

Prior to setting up the system referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission, in
consultation with the European Critical Raw Materials Board, shall carry out anassessment of the expected impact of the system on the market for each strategic raw
material with a view to avoid any disproportionate impact on competition in the internalmarket.

2.

On the basis of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1a, when setting up andoperating the system referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall:(a)choose for which strategic raw materials, at which processing stage, the system canbe used, taking into account the relative supply risk of different strategic raw
materials ▌ ;(b)set minimum amounts of demanded material to participate in the system, taking into
account the expected number of interested participants and the need to ensure amanageable amount of participants, while taking into account the needs for small
and medium sized enterprises.

3.

Participation in the system referred to in paragraph shall be open and transparent to allinterested undertakings established in the Union.

4.

Union undertakings ▌ participating in the system referred to in paragraph 1 may, on atransparent basis, jointly negotiate the purchase, including the prices or other terms andconditions of the purchasing agreement or use joint purchasing in order to achieve better
conditions with their suppliers or to prevent shortages. Participating Union undertakings ▌shall comply with Union law, including Union competition law.

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5.

Entities shall be excluded from participation as supplier, in the demand aggregation andjoint purchasing or as service provider if they are:(a)targeted by Union restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215 TFEU;(b)

directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf or at the direction ofnatural or legal persons, entities or bodies targeted by such Union restrictive
measures.

6.

By derogation from Article 176 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Commission
shall contract the necessary services of an entity established in the Union through a
procurement procedure under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, acting as a service
provider to set up and operate the system under paragraph 1. The Service provider selectedshall not have any conflict of interest.

7.

The Commission shall define in the service contract the tasks to be provided by the service
provider, including the allocation of demand, the allocation of access rights for supply,
registration and verification of all participants, publication and reporting of the activities
and any other task necessary to set up and operate the system. The service contract shallalso deal with practicalities of the operation of the service provider including the use of the
IT tool, the security measures, the currency or currencies, the payment regime, andliabilities.

8.

The service contract with the service provider shall reserve to the Commission the right tomonitor and audit it. For that purpose, the Commission shall have full access to theinformation held by the service provider in relation to the contract. All servers andinformation shall be physically located and stored in the territory of the Union.

9.

The service contract with the selected service provider shall determine the ownership of
the information obtained by the service provider, and shall provide for the possible transferof that information to the Commission at the termination or expiry of the service contract.

Chapter 5
Sustainability
SECTION 1
CIRCULARITY

Article 25
National measures on circularity
1.

Each Member State shall by 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing
act referred to in paragraph 7 adopt and implement, or include in, national programmes
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(-a) incentivise technological progress and resource efficiency in order to moderate theexpected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials;(a)promote waste prevention and increase re-use and repair of products andcomponents with relevant critical raw materials recovery potential;(b)

increase the collection, sorting and processing of waste with high critical raw
materials recovery potential, including metal scraps, and ensure their introduction
into the appropriate recycling system, with a view to maximising the availability
and quality of recyclable material as an input to critical raw material recycling
facilities;

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(c)

increase the use of secondary critical raw materials ▌ , including through measures
such as taking recycled content into account in award criteria related to public
procurement or financial incentives for the use of secondary critical raw materials;(d)increase the technological maturity of recycling technologies for critical raw
materials and ▌ promote circular design, materials efficiency and ▌ substitution ofcritical raw materials in products and applications, at least by including support
actions to that effect under national research & ▌ amp; innovation programmes;(e)ensure that measures are in place to equip their workforce with the skills needed tosupport circularity of the critical raw materials value chain, including measures on
upskilling and reskilling;(ea) promote that financial contributions paid by the producer, where they exist innational law, in compliance with its extended producer responsibility obligations
established in accordance with Article 8(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC, incentivise
that products contain a larger share of secondary critical raw materials recoveredfrom waste recycled in line with relevant environmental standards established inUnion law;(eb) take necessary measures to ensure that critical raw materials that are exported
under an end-of-waste status fulfill the relevant conditions in accordance withdirective 2008/98/EC and other relevant Union law;(ec) where relevant, support the use of Union quality standards for recycling processesof waste streams containing critical raw materials.
1a.

The programmes referred to in paragraph 1 may be integrated into new or existing waste
management plans and waste prevention programmes adopted pursuant to Articles 28
and 29 of Directive 2008/98/EC.
The national programmes referred to in the first subparagraph shall be reviewed and if
necessary updated at the latest 5 years after their adoption.

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2.

The programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover in particular products and waste
which are not subject to any specific requirement on collection, treatment, recycling or reuse under Union legislation. For other products and waste, the measures shall be
implemented in coherence with existing Union legislation.
With respect to points (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph 1, the programmes referred to in thatparagraph may include, without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU, theintroduction of financial incentives, such as discounts, monetary rewards or deposit-refund
systems, to encourage the preparation for re-use and re-use of products with high criticalraw materials recovery potential, and the collection and treatment of waste from suchproducts.

3.

▌

4.

The national measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be designed so as to avoid
barriers to trade and distortions of competition in conformity with the TFEU.

5.

▌ Member States shall identify separately, and report, the quantities of components
containing relevant amounts of critical raw materials removed from waste electrical andelectronic equipment and the quantities of critical raw materials recovered from such
equipment. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the format anddetails of such reporting. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 37(3). The first reporting period shall cover
the first full calendar year after the adoption of those implementing acts. Member Statesshall submit this data when reporting to the Commission the data concerning thequantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment recycled, pursuant to Article
16(6) of Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment.

6.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on
the adoption of the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 and on progress in theeffective implementation of the measures taken pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.

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7.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying a list of products, components
and waste streams that shall at least be considered as having a relevant critical raw
materials recovery potential within the meaning of paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
In drawing up this list, the Commission shall take account of:(a)the total amount of critical raw materials recoverable from those products,
components and waste streams:(b)

the extent to which those products, components and waste streams are covered byUnion legislation;(c)regulatory gaps;(d)particular challenges affecting their collection and waste treatment;(e)existing systems of collection and waste treatment applying to them.

The implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall be adopted by [12 months
after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

Article 26
Recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste
1.

Operators obliged to draw up waste management plans in accordance with Article 5 ofDirective 2006/21/EC shall provide to the competent authority as defined in Article 3(27)of Directive 2006/21/EC a preliminary economic assessment study regarding the potential
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(b)

the extractive waste being generated or, where considered more effective, from theextracted volume prior to it becoming waste.

(ba) Operators are exempted from the obligation under paragraph 1, if they can showwith a high degree of certainty to the competent authority that the extractive waste
does not contain critical raw materials that are technically recoverable.
2.

The study referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least include an estimation of the quantities
and concentrations of critical raw materials contained in the extractive waste and in theextracted volume and an assessment of their technical and economic recoverability.
Operators shall specify the methods used to estimate the quantities and concentrations.

3.

Operators of extractive waste facilities shall submit the study referred to in paragraph 1 tothe competent authority as defined in Article 3(27) of Directive 2006/21/EC by [OP please
insert: 30 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. Operators of newwaste facilities shall submit this study to the competent authority when submitting theirwaste management plans in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 2006/21/EC.

4.

Member States shall establish a database of ▌ closed extractive waste facilities, including
abandoned extractive waste facilities, located on their territory where the characteristicsof the waste sites or geological conditions do not make the presence of potentially
technically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials unlikely. This database shallcontain information on:(a)the location, areal extent and waste volume, or where appropriate, the estimatedvolume, of the waste facility;(b)the operator or former operator of the waste facility and, where applicable, their legal
successor;(c)the approximate quantities and concentrations of all raw materials contained in theextractive waste and, where available, in the original mineral deposit, in accordancewith paragraph 6 of this Article;

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(d)

any additional information considered relevant by the Member State to enable therecovery of critical raw materials from a waste facility.

4a.

Member States shall, by [OP please insert: 42 months after the date of entry into force of
this Regulation] adopt and implement measures to promote the recovery of critical raw
materials from extractive waste, in particular from closed extractive waste facilities
identified in the database referred to in paragraph 4 as containing potentially
economically recoverable critical raw materials.

5.

The database referred to in paragraph 4 shall be put in place by [OP please insert: 18
months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and all information completed
by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. It shallbe made available in a publicly accessible and digital form and updated at least every 3
years to incorporate additional available information and newly closed or newly identified
facilities.

6.

In order to provide the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), Member Statesshall undertake at least the following activities:(a)for ▌ closed extractive waste facilities, Member States shall comprehensively review
the available permitting files, or other available documentation when permitting
files do not exist, by [OP please insert: 18 months after the date of entry into force of
this Regulation];(b)

for such extractive waste facilities where available information could indicate thepresence of potentially economically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials,
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(c)

7.

for such extractive waste facilities where the activities described under points (a) and(b) of this paragraph have indicated potentially economically recoverable quantities
of critical raw materials, Member States shall additionally carry out, by [OP please
insert: 34 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], a moredetailed sampling with subsequent chemical and mineralogical characterisation
involving core logging or equivalent techniques, where this is environmentally soundin accordance with applicable environmental requirements at Union level and withthe requirements of Directive 2006/21/EC where relevant.

The activities described in paragraph 6 shall be carried out within the limits of national
legal systems pertaining to property rights, ownership of land, mineral resources andwaste, environmental and health impacts and any other relevant provisions. Where suchfactors inhibit the activities, the Member State authorities shall seek the cooperation of theoperator or owner of the waste facility. The results of the activities described underparagraph 6 shall be made accessible as part of the database referred to in paragraph 4.
Where possible, the Member States shall include in the database a classification of theclosed extractive waste facilities according to the United Nations Framework Classification
for Resources.
Article 27
Recyclability of permanent magnets

1.

From 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to inparagraph 2, any natural or legal person that places on the market magnetic resonanceimaging devices, wind energy generators, industrial robots, motor vehicles, light means oftransport, cooling generators, heat pumps, electric motors, including where they areintegrated in other products, automatic washing machines, tumble driers, microwaves,vacuum cleaners or dishwashers shall ensure that those products bear a conspicuous,clearly legible and indelible label indicating:(a)16127/23
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(b)

if the product incorporates one or more permanent magnets, whether those magnets
belong to any of the following types:(i)

Neodymium-Iron-Boron;(ii)

Samarium-Cobalt;(iii) Aluminium-Nickel-Cobalt;(iv) Ferrite.
2.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing the format for the labellingreferred to in paragraph 1. That implementing act shall be adopted by [OP please insert: 18
months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

3.

From 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to inparagraph 2, any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred to inparagraph 1 incorporating one or more permanent magnets of the types referred inparagraph 1, point (b) ▌ shall ensure that a data carrier is present on or in the product.

4.

The data carrier referred to in paragraph 3 shall be linked to a unique product identifier thatprovides access to the following:(a)the name, registered trade name or registered trademark and the postal address of the
responsible natural or legal person and, where available, electronic means ofcommunication where they can be contacted;(b)

information on the weight, location and chemical composition of all individual
permanent magnets included in the product, and on the presence and type of magnet
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(c)

information enabling access and safe removal of all permanent magnets incorporated
in the product, at least including the sequence of all removal steps, tools or
technologies required for the access and removal of the permanent magnet, without
prejudice to Article 15(1) of Directive 2012/19/EU.

5.

For products where the incorporated permanent magnets are exclusively contained in one
or more electric motors incorporated in the product, the information referred to inparagraph 4, point (b), may be replaced by information on the location of those electricmotors, and the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), may be replaced byinformation on the access and removal of the electric motors, at least including thesequence of all removal steps, tools or technologies required for the access and removal of
the electric motors.

6.

For products referred to in paragraph 3 for which a product passport ▌ is required pursuant
to another Union legislative act, the information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be
included in that product passport.

7.

The economic operator placing the product, as referred to in paragraph 1, on the market
shall ensure that information referred to in paragraph 3 is complete, up-to-date, andaccurate and shall remain available for a period at least equal to the product’s typicallifetime plus ten years, including after an insolvency, a liquidation or a cessation of activity
in the Union of the responsible natural or legal person. It may authorise an operator to act
on their behalf.
The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall refer to the product model or, where theinformation differs between units of the same model, to a particular batch or unit. The
information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be accessible to repairers, recyclers, market
surveillance authorities and customs authorities.

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8.

▌
▌
▌

9.

Where information requirements relating to the recycling of permanent magnets are
established in ▌ Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph
1, those requirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.

10.

Products primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from therequirements of this Article.

11.

For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport thatare type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements of this Article shall apply from[OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

11a.

This article shall not apply to: (a) special purpose vehicles as defined in Article 3, point(31), of Regulation (EU) 2018/858; (b) other parts of a vehicle that have been typeapproved in multi-stage type approval of category N1, N2, N3, M2 or M3 than the basevehicle; (c) vehicles produced in small series, as defined in Article 3, point (30), ofRegulation 2018/858.

12.

The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 36 inorder to provide ▌ a list of Combined Nomenclature20 codes and product descriptions
corresponding to the products referred to in paragraph 1 with the aim of facilitating thework of customs authorities in relation to those products and the requirements set out inthis Article and in Article 28.

20

Combined Nomenclature in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87

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ENArticle 28
Recycled content of permanent magnets
1.

From either [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]or 2 years after the entry into force of the delegated act referred to in paragraph 2,
whichever is later, any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred
to in Article 27(1) which incorporate one or more permanent magnets referred to in Article
27(1), point (b), (i) to (iii), and for which the total weight of all such permanent magnets
exceeds 0.2 kg shall make publicly available on a free access website the share ofneodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt
recovered from post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in the
product.

2.

By [OP please insert: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 36 to supplement thisRegulation by establishing rules for the calculation and verification of the share ofneodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt
recovered from ▌ post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in
the products referred to in paragraph 1.
The calculation and verification rules shall specify the applicable conformity assessment
procedure from among the modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC, withthe adaptations necessary in view of the products concerned. When specifying theapplicable conformity assessment procedure, the Commission shall consider the following
criteria:(a)whether the module concerned is appropriate to the type of product and proportionate
to the public interest pursued;(b)the nature of the risks entailed by the product and the extent to which conformity
assessment corresponds to the type and degree of risk;

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(c)

3.

where third party involvement is mandatory, the need for the manufacturer to have a
choice between quality assurance and product certification modules set out in Annex
II of Decision No 768/2008/EC.

After the entry into force of the delegated act under paragraph 2 and no later than 31
December 2031, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation
by laying down minimum shares for neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium,
boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste that must bepresent in the permanent magnet incorporated in the products referred to in paragraph 1.
The delegated act may apply different minimum shares for different products andexclude certain products from this obligation.
Delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide for transitional periods
adapted to the difficulty of adopting the products covered by the measure to ensurecompliance.
The minimum share referred to in the first subparagraph shall be based on a priorassessment of impacts, taking into account:(a)the existing and forecasted availability of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium,terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste;(b)

the information collected pursuant to paragraph 1 and the relative distribution of theshare of recycled content in permanent magnets incorporated in products referred toin paragraph 1 placed on the market;(c)technical and scientific progress, including considerable changes in permanent
magnet technologies impacting the type of materials recovered;(d)the effective and potential contribution of a minimum share to the Union’s climate
and environmental objectives;(e)possible impacts on the functioning of products incorporating permanent magnets;

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(f)

the need to prevent disproportionate negative impacts on the affordability ofpermanent magnets and products incorporating permanent magnets.

4.

Where requirements relating to the recycled content of permanent magnets are establishedin ▌ Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph 1, thoserequirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.

5.

From the date of application of the requirement of paragraph 1, when offering the products
referred to in paragraph 1 for sale, including in case of distance selling, or displaying themin the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing on the market
products referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that their customers have access to theinformation referred to in paragraph 1 before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market products referred to in paragraph 1 shallnot provide or display labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead orconfuse customers with respect to the information referred to in paragraph 1. Products
primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from therequirements of this Article.

6.

For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport thatare type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 5
shall apply from 5 years after the date of entry into force of the delegated act referred to inparagraph 2.

6a.

This article shall not apply to: (a) special purpose vehicles as defined in Article 3, point(31), of Regulation (EU) 2018/858; (b) other parts of a vehicle that have been typeapproved in multi-stage type approval of category N1, N2, N3, M2 or M3 than the basevehicle; (c) vehicles produced in small series, as defined in Article 3, point (30), ofRegulation 2018/858.

SECTION 2
CERTIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

Article 29
Recognised schemes
1.

Governments, industry associations and groupings of interested organisations that havedeveloped and oversee certification schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw
materials ("scheme owners") may apply to have their schemes recognised by theCommission.
Applications referred in the first subparagraph shall contain any relevant evidence related
to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Annex IV. The Commission shall adopt an
implementing act by [OP please insert: three years after the entry into force of the16127/23
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Regulation] specifying the information that applications shall at least contain. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred
to in Article 37(3).
That implementing act shall provide for a single template to cover all information
required for the application. The extent of documentation required to complete thesingle template shall be reasonable.

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2.

Where, on the basis of the evidence provided pursuant to the paragraph 1, the Commission
determines that a certification scheme meets the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or asubset thereof, it shall adopt an implementing act granting that scheme a recognition,
specifying the recognised coverage of the scheme. Those implementing acts shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

2a.

The recognised coverage for each scheme shall be specified along the following
dimensions:(a)the stages of the value chain covered by the scheme;(b)

the stages of the life cycle of a project, including before, during and after closure,that are covered by the scheme; and(c)the sustainability dimensions and environmental risk categories listed in Annex IV
point (b) that are addressed by the scheme.

Annex IV points (a), (c), (d), (da) should be a prerequisite for any recognition of thescheme.
3.

The Commission shall verify at least every three years that recognised schemes continue
to fulfil the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of the recognised subset of those criteria.

4.

Owners of recognised schemes shall inform the Commission without delay of any changes
or updates related to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of therecognised subset of those criteria, made to those schemes. The Commission shall assess
whether such changes or updates affect the basis for the recognition and take appropriate
action.

5.

If there is evidence of repeated or significant cases where economic operators
implementing a recognised scheme have failed to fulfil the requirements of that scheme,
the Commission shall examine, in consultation with the owner of the recognised scheme,
whether those cases indicate deficiencies in the scheme affecting the basis for therecognition and take appropriate action.

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6.

Where the Commission identifies deficiencies in a recognised scheme affecting the basis
for the recognition, it may grant the scheme owner an appropriate period of time to takeremedial action, which shall not be longer than 12 months.

7.

Where the scheme owner fails or refuses to take the necessary remedial action ▌ and where
the Commission has determined that the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 6 mean thatthe scheme no longer fulfils the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of the recognised
subset of those criteria, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act withdrawing therecognition of the scheme. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance withthe examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

8.

The Commission shall establish and keep up-to-date a register of recognised schemes. Thatregister shall be made publicly available on a free access website. That website shall also
allow for the collection of feedback from all relevant stakeholders concerning theimplementation of recognised schemes. Such feedback shall be forwarded to therespective scheme owners for consideration.
Article 30
Environmental footprint declaration

1.

Taking into account the result of the report referred to in paragraph 1a and of theassessment referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegatedacts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation to establish rules for the
calculation and verification of the environmental footprint of different critical raw
materials, in accordance with Annex V and taking into account scientifically soundassessment methods and relevant international standards. The calculation and verification
rules shall identify at least the three most relevant impact categories accounting for the
majority of the overall environmental footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions shall be oneof the environmental categories. The footprint declaration shall be limited to these impact
categories.

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1a.

Commission shall by [18 months after entry into force] submit a report to the European
Parliament and the Council setting out which critical raw materials will be prioritised
for assessing whether the obligation to declare the environmental footprint of a criticalraw materials is necessary and proportionate. For the critical raw materials that theCommission has identified as priority, it shall present the conclusions of the assessment
referred to in paragraph 2 by 12 months after the report.

2.

The Commission shall adopt calculation and verification rules for a specific critical raw
material if it has concluded, having considered the various relevant environmental impact
categories, that the critical raw material in question has a significant environmental
footprint and that therefore an obligation to declare the environmental footprint of thatmaterial regarding the impact categories referred to in paragraph 1, when placing it on
the market, is necessary and proportionate to contribute to the Union’s climate andenvironmental objectives by facilitating the supply of critical raw materials with lower
environmental footprint.

3.

When considering whether the obligation foreseen in paragraph 2 is necessary, theCommission shall take into account:(a)whether and how as well as how effectively the Union’s climate and environmental
objectives are already being achieved through other Union legislation applicable tothe critical raw material in question;(b)

the existence and uptake of relevant international standards and guidelines, or theprospects of agreeing on such standards at international level, as well as sustainable
practices on the market, including the voluntary schemes recognised pursuant to
Article 29;(c)the effectiveness of strategic partnerships, strategic projects, trade agreements andother international instruments and outreach conducted by the Union in achieving theUnion’s climate and environmental objectives.

(ca) the associated economic costs and administrative burden for economic operators.

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4.

The Commission shall conduct a prior assessment of impacts in order to decide whether toadopt a delegated act under paragraph 1. Such assessment shall:(a)be based, inter alia, on a consultation of:(i)all relevant stakeholders, such as industry including downstream industry,
SMEs, and, where relevant, the craft industry, social partners, traders, retailers,
importers, organisations promoting human health and environmental
protection, consumer organisations and academia;(ii)

third countries, or OCTs, whose trade with the Union may be significantly
affected by this obligation;(iii) the Board;(iiia) Union agencies with competences in the field of environmental protection, as
appropriate;(b)ensure that any such measure is not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to orwith the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade and is no moretrade-restrictive than necessary to achieve the Union’s climate and environmental
objectives, having regard to the ability of third-country suppliers to comply with sucha declaration such that aggregate trade flows and critical raw materials costs are notdisproportionately affected;(ba) assess whether similar obligations under Union law has produced the intended
effects and significantly contributed to the achievement of the Union's
environmental targets;(c)

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assess whether the measure would contribute to achieving the Union’s climate andenvironmental objectives without disproportionately impacting the ability of Union
industry to source the critical raw material in question.

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5.

Any natural or legal person that places on the market critical raw materials, including
processed and recycled, for which the Commission has adopted calculation andverification rules pursuant to paragraph 1 shall make available an environmental footprint
declaration.
The requirement set out in the first subparagraph shall apply to each individual critical raw
material type placed on the market and shall not apply to critical raw materials included inintermediate or final products.

6.

The environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5 shall contain thefollowing information:(a)the name, registered trade name or registered trademark and the postal address of the
responsible natural or legal person and electronic means of communication where
they can be contacted;(b)

information about the critical raw material type for which the declaration applies;(c)

information about the country and region where the critical raw material was
extracted, processed, refined and recycled, as applicable;(d)the environmental footprint of critical raw material, calculated in accordance with theapplicable verification and calculation rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1;(e)the environmental footprint performance class that the critical raw material
corresponds to, established in accordance with the applicable delegated act adopted
pursuant to paragraph 7;(f)a web link providing access to a public version of the study supporting theenvironmental footprint declaration results.

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7.

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement
this Regulation by establishing environmental footprint performance classes within areasonable timeframe for critical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules
have been adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, in accordance with Annex V.

7a.

The Commission shall, when setting calculation rules for the environmental footprint ofintermediate and final products containing critical raw materials, require the use of theenvironmental footprint calculation rules referred to in this article, where possible.

8.

The environmental footprint declaration shall be made available on a free access website inan easily understandable manner.
The Commission is empowered to adopt an implementing act establishing the format for
the environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5. That implementing act
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

9.

When offering critical raw materials for sale, including in case of distance selling, ordisplaying them in the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing
on the market critical raw materials shall ensure that their customers have access to theenvironmental footprint declaration before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market critical raw materials shall not provide ordisplay labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead or confusecustomers with respect to the information included in the environmental footprint
declaration.

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SECTION 3
FREE MOVEMENT, CONFORMITY AND MARKET SURVEILLANCE

Article 31
Free movement
1.

Member States shall not, for reasons relating to information for recycling or recycledcontent of permanent magnets or for reasons relating to information on the environmental
footprint of critical raw material covered by this Regulation, prohibit, restrict or impede themaking available on the market or the putting into service of products incorporating
permanent magnets or of critical raw materials that comply with this Regulation.

2.

At trade fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations or similar events, Member States shall notprevent the showing of products incorporating permanent magnets or of critical raw
materials which do not comply with this Regulation, provided that a visible sign clearly
indicates that such products or materials do not comply with this Regulation and that theycannot be made available on the market until they have been brought into conformity.
Article 32
Conformity and market surveillance

1.

Before placing a product covered by Article 27 or 28 on the market, the responsible naturalor legal persons shall ensure that the applicable conformity assessment procedure has been
carried out and that the required technical documentation has been drawn up. Where
compliance of a product with the applicable requirements have been demonstrated by the
conformity assessment procedure, the responsible natural or legal persons shall ensure thatan EU declaration of conformity has been drawn up and the CE marking has been affixed.

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2.

The conformity assessment procedure for products covered by the requirements set out in
Article 27 shall be the procedure set out in Annex IV of Directive 2009/125/EC, unless
those products are also covered by the requirements set out in Article 28, in which case theconformity assessment procedure shall be the procedure set out in the calculation andverification rules adopted pursuant to Article 28(2).

3.

▌

4.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

5.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

6.

This Article shall not apply to products covered by type approval under Regulation
2018/858 and Regulation 168/2013.

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Article 32a
Implementation and alignment with Union harmonisation legislation
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to
supplement Articles 27, 28, 30 and 32 in order to:(a)establish requirements for the technical design and operation of the data carrier andunique product identifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(b)

refer to technical standards to be used in relation to the data carrier and unique productidentifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(c)

establish rules for the inclusion of the unique product identifier referred to in Article
27(4) in registries relevant for market surveillance and customs controls;(d)establish requirements related to customs controls related to the data carrier and uniqueproduct identifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(e)

establish procedures for dealing with products presenting risk at national level orformal-non-compliances, as well as related safeguard procedures in case objections areraised against the market surveillance measures taken;(f)establish requirements related to the EU declaration of conformity and generalprinciples and rules and conditions for affixing CE marking.

In doing so, the Commission shall refer to or ensure alignment with other Union harmonisationand legislation, in particular [OP: please insert reference to Ecodesign Directive] and take into
account the need to limit administrative burden while ensuring the effective implementation of
Articles 27, 28 and 30.

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ENChapter 6▌
Article 33▌

Chapter 7
Governance
Article 34
European Critical Raw Materials Board
1.

The European Critical Raw Materials Board (the ‘Board’) is established.

2.

The Board shall have an advisory role to the Commission and perform the tasks set out inthis Regulation.
Article 35
Composition and functioning of the European Critical Raw Materials Board

1.

The Board shall be composed of representatives from all Member States and theCommission. It shall be chaired by the Commission.

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2.

Each Member State shall appoint a high-level representative to the Board. Where relevant
as regards the function and expertise, a Member State may appoint different
representatives in relation to different tasks of the Board. Each member of the Board shallhave an alternate. Only Member States shall have voting rights. Each Member State shallhave only one vote regardless the number of representatives.
The Chair shall invite representatives of the European Parliament to attend, as
observers, its meetings, including of the standing or temporary sub-groups referred to inparagraph 6.

1b.

Where appropriate, the Chair of the Board may invite representatives of industry,
especially small and medium sized enterprises, civil society, academia, trade unions,
local or regional authorities, third countries, overseas countries and territories, as well
as of the European Defence Agency, the European Chemical Agency, the European
Environmental Agency or the European External Action Service to attend meetings ofthe Board or its standing or temporary sub-groups referred to in paragraph 6 asobservers or to provide written contributions. Observers shall not participate in theformulation of advice of the Board and its sub-groups.

3.

At its first meeting the Board shall, on a proposal by the Commission, adopt its rules ofprocedure by a simple majority of its members.

4.

The Board shall meet at regular intervals in order to allow the effective performance of its
tasks specified in this Regulation. Where necessary, the Board shall meet at the reasoned
request of the Commission or of a Member State justifying a particular interest withregard to a Strategic Project on its territory warranting an additional meeting.
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(c)

once a year in order to discuss the progress of the implementation of Member Stateobligations linked to exploration set out in Chapter 3, Section 4, including in light of
updates to the lists of critical or strategic raw materials.

5.

The Commission shall coordinate the work of the Board by means of an executive
secretariat that provides technical and logistical support.

5a.

The Board shall:(a)periodically discuss the implementation of Article 8 and share best-practices for
speeding up permitting procedure for critical raw material projects, as well as toimprove their public participation and consultation;(b)

where relevant, propose to the Commission guidelines for the implementation of
Article 8 paragraph 1 to be taken into account by points of single contact;(c)periodically discuss the implementation of the Strategic Projects and, where
necessary, measures that could be taken by the project promoter or the Member
State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project to further facilitate theimplementation of those Strategic Projects pursuant to Article 14;(c1) provide advice to the Commission on the assessment of the set up of the system
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facilitate the exchange of best practices between Member States, on how to
improve their national programmes pursuant to Article 25.

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6.

The Board may establish standing or temporary sub-groups to deal with specific questions
and tasks.
The Board shall at least establish the following standing sub-groups:(a)a subgroup to discuss and coordinate financing for Strategic Projects pursuant to
Article 15; representatives of national promotional banks and institutions, export
credit agencies, the European development financial institutions, the European
Investment Bank Group, other international financial institutions including theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, as appropriate, private
financial institutions shall be invited as observers;(aa) a subgroup to discuss and exchange views on measures to increase publicknowledge on the critical raw materials supply chain and share best practices
concerning public participation and stakeholders involvement in critical raw
materials projects; for which representatives of civil society organisations shall be
regularly invited, as observers;(b)a subgroup bringing together national or, where relevant, regional geologicalinstitutes or surveys or, in the absence of such institute or survey, the relevant
national authority in charge of general exploration, with the purpose of contributing
to the coordination of national exploration programmes referred to in Article 18;(ba) a subgroup to discuss and exchange views on measures to promote circularity,
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a subgroup bringing together national supply and information agencies covering
critical raw materials or, in the absence of such agency, the relevant national
authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing to the monitoringtasks as set out in Article 19;

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(d)

7.

a subgroup bringing together national emergency agency and national authorities
responsible for strategic stocks or, in the absence of such agency and authority, therelevant national authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing
to the coordination of strategic stocks as set out in Article 22.

▌▌
In performing its tasks, the Board shall, where appropriate, ensure coordination,
cooperation and information exchange with the relevant crisis response and crisis
preparedness structures established under Union law.

8.

The Board shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safe handling and processing ofconfidential and commercially sensitive information in accordance with Article 44.

9.

The Board shall use its best endeavours to reach consensus.
Article 35a
International cooperation and Strategic Partnerships

1.

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the extent to which Strategic Partnerships concluded by the Union contributetowards:(i)

improving the Union's security of supply including the benchmarks set out in
Article 4a point (b);(ii)

improving cooperation along the critical raw materials value chain between
the Union and partner countries, including capacity building and technology
transfer programs to promote circularity and responsible recycling of criticalraw materials in producing countries;

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(iii) the economic and social development of partner countries, including bypromoting sustainable and circular economy practices, decent working
conditions and respect for human rights along their raw material value
chains;(b)

the coherence and potential synergies between Member States’ bilateral
cooperation with relevant third countries and the actions carried out by the Union
in the context of Strategic Partnerships;(c)which third countries could be prioritised for the conclusion of StrategicPartnerships, taking into account the following criteria:(i)the potential contribution to security of supply as well as resilience thereof,
taking into account a third country's potential reserves, extraction,
processing and recycling capacities related to critical raw materials;(ii)

whether a cooperation between the Union and a third country could improvea third country's ability to ensure the monitoring, prevention andminimisation of adverse environmental impacts through its regulatory
framework and the implementation thereof, the use of socially responsible
practices including respect of human and labour rights, notably on forced
and child labour, meaningful engagement with local communities, including
indigenous peoples, the use of transparent and responsible businesspractices, the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of
public administration and the rule of law;(iii) whether there are existing cooperation agreements between a third country
and the Union and, for emerging markets and developing economies, thepotential for the deployment of Global Gateway investment projects,
including with a view to facilitating investment in Strategic Projects.

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(iv) for emerging markets and developing economies, whether and how apartnership could contribute to local value addition, including downstream
activities, and would be mutually beneficial for the partner country and theUnion.
(d)advice the Commission on how to ensure that the strategic partnerships referred toin the context of paragraph 1 are coherent with the Union’s policies with emerging
markets and developing economies.

2.

The provisions under paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the prerogatives of theCouncil in accordance with the Treaties.

3.

Member States:

3a.

(a)

shall inform the Commission on their bilateral cooperation with relevant third
countries, when its scope includes critical raw materials value chain;(b)

may support the Commission in the implementation of the cooperation measures
set out in Strategic Partnerships along the raw materials value chain.

Once a year, the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council on
the content and outcome of the discussion referred to in the precedent paragraphs.

Chapter 8
Delegated powers and committee procedure
Article 36
Exercise of the delegation
1.

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to theconditions laid down in this Article.

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2.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2),Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall be conferred on theCommission for a period of eight years from [OP please insert: one month after the date ofentry into force of this Regulation]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect ofthe delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the eight year period.
The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration ▌unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than threemonths before the end of each period.

3.

The delegation of power referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article
27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) may be revoked at any time by theEuropean Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to thedelegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following
the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later
date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each
Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. The consultation of Member States'
experts shall take place after the consultation pursuant to Article 14.

5.

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to theEuropean Parliament and to the Council.

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6.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12),Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall enter into force only if no objection has been
expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two monthsof notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before theexpiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed theCommission that they will not object. That period may be extended by two months at theinitiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 37
Committee procedure

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the implementation of [OP: please
insert reference to this act]. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning ofRegulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shallapply.

3.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shallapply.

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ENChapter 9
Amendments
Article 38
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/1724
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 is amended as follows:(1)

in Annex I, in the first column, a new row ‘S. Critical raw materials projects’ is added.

(2)

in Annex I, in the second column, in the row ‘AJ. Critical raw materials projects’, thefollowing point are added:‘-1. the points of single contact referred to in Article 8 paragraph 1;

(3)

1.

information on the permit-granting process.’‘2.

information on financing and investment services’‘3.

information on funding possibilities at Union or Member State level’‘4.

information on business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax
declaration, local tax laws, labour law’in Annex II, in the first column, a new row ‘Critical raw materials projects’ is added.

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(4)

in Annex II, in the second column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, thefollowing points are added:‘Procedure related to all relevant ▌ permits to ▌ build and operate critical raw materials
projects, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and environmental
assessments and authorisations where these are required, and encompassing all ▌applications and procedures from the acknowledgment that the application is complete to
the notification of the comprehensive decision on the outcome of the procedure by the
responsible Point of single contact.’(5)

in Annex II, in the third column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, the following
point is added:‘All outputs pertaining to the procedures ranging from the acknowledgment of thecompleteness of the application to the notification of the comprehensive decision on theoutcome of the procedure by the Point of single contact.’(6)

in Annex III, the following point is added:‘(9) The Point of single contact referred to in Article 8(1) of [OP: please insert reference
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Article 39
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 is amended as follows:(1)

in Article 4(5), the text “(EU) 2016/425(35) and (EU) 2016/426(36)” is replaced by thefollowing: “(EU) 2016/425 (*), (EU) 2016/426 (**) and [(EU) […] [year of adoption ofthis Regulation]/…(***)];(2)in Annex I, the following point is added: ‘X [OP please insert the next consecutive
number] Regulation (EU)…/… establishing a framework for ensuring a secure andsustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 [OPplease insert the publication details of this Regulation], in so far as it concerns therequirements set out Articles 27, 28 or 30 of that Regulation.

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Article 40
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/858
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:‘[OP Please insert
the next
consecutive
number underheading G]

Permanent
magnetcircularity
requirements

Regulation (EU)XX/XXXX [OPplease insert: OJ
publication detailsof this Regulation]

X X X X X X

X X’
Article 41
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 168/2013
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 168/2013 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:‘[OP Please
insert thenextconsecutive
numberunderheading C1]

Permanent
magnetcircularity
requirements

Regulation(EU)
XX/XXXX[OP please
insert: OJ
publication
details of
thisRegulation]

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X’

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ENChapter 10
Final provisions
Article 42
Monitoring progress-1.

By [OP please insert: 18 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall present a report including indicative projections of the annual
consumption of each critical raw material in 2030, 2040 and 2050, including a low, ahigh and a reference projection, as well as indicative benchmarks for extraction andprocessing per strategic raw material with a view to meet the benchmarks set in Article
4a(a), for 2030.

1.

The Commission shall, taking into account the advice of the Board, monitor progress
towards the benchmarks set out in Article 4a(1), as well as the moderation of the
expected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials referred in Article
4a(2) and publish, at least every 3 years, a report detailing the Union’s progress towards
achieving those benchmarks and that moderation.
The first report shall be drawn up by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation].

2.

The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:-

quantitative information on the extent of the Union's progress towards thebenchmarks and the moderation set out in Article 4a;-a list of strategic partnerships concluded between the Union and third countries
covering raw materials, as well as

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-

an assessment of their contribution to the aim set out in Article 4a(1)(b).

For the purposes of this Article, economic operators shall not be required to submit
information in addition to the information provided pursuant to Article 20.
2b.

To ensure the coherent implementation of this Regulation, the Commission shallmonitor the consistency of its actions undertaken to implement it with other Union laws.
In addition, the Commission shall publish, within [OJ please insert: 1 year after the dateof entry into force of this Regulation], a report on the consistency of this Regulation withother Union law.

2a.

Where, based on the report referred to in Paragraph 1, the Commission concludes that
the Union is likely not to achieve the aims set out in Article 4a, it shall assess thefeasibility and proportionality of proposing measures in order to ensure the achievementof those aims.

2d.

The Commission shall request the European Standardisation organisations to develop
European standards or European standardisation deliverables to support the objectivesof this Regulation.
Article 43
Reporting of Member States

1.

Member States shall each year send a report to the Commission containing the informationreferred to in Article 18(4), Article 20(1) and (2), Article 21(1), Article 22(5) and Article
25(6). The first report shall be sent [OP please insert: two years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation].
Economic operators shall not be required to submit information in addition to theinformation provided in the context of the provisions listed in sub-paragraph 1.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts setting out a template for thereports referred to in paragraph 1. The template may indicate how the information referred
to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted inaccordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).

3.

The information contained in the reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall be treated inaccordance with Article 44.
Article 44
Treatment of confidential information

1.

Information acquired in the course of implementing this Regulation shall be used only forthe purposes of this Regulation and shall be protected by the relevant Union and national
legislation.

2.

Member States and the Commission shall ensure the protection of trade and businesssecrets and other sensitive, confidential and classified information acquired and generated
in application of this Regulation, including recommendations and measures to be taken, in
accordance with Union and the respective national law.

3.

Member States and the Commission shall ensure that classified information provided or
exchanged under this Regulation is not downgraded or declassified without the priorwritten consent of the originator in accordance with relevant national or Union law.

4.

If a Member State assesses that the presentation of aggregated information in the context ofArticle 21 may nonetheless compromise its national security interest, it may object to theCommission’s presentation through a justified notice.

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5.

The Commission and the national authorities, their officials, employees and other persons
working under the supervision of these authorities shall ensure the confidentiality of
information obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities in accordance with relevant
national or Union law. This obligation also applies to all representatives of Member
States, observers, experts and other participants attending meetings of the Board pursuant
to Article 35.

5a.

The Commission shall provide for standardised and secure means for the collection,
processing and storage of the information acquired pursuant to this Regulation.

5b.

Any obligations on sharing information pursuant to this Regulation shall not apply todata that concerns the essential interests of the Member States' security or defence.
Article 45
Penalties

No later than 18 months after entry into force of the Regulation, Member States shall lay down
rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measuresnecessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective,
proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without delay, notify the Commission of thoserules and of those measures and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment
affecting them.
Article 46
Evaluation
1.

By [OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation in light of the objectives that it
pursues and shall present a report thereon to the European Parliament, to the Council andto the European Economic and Social Committee.

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2.

2a.

The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least assess:-the appropriateness of establishing maximum environmental footprint thresholds forcritical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules have been adopted
as well as the need to further strengthen the critical raw materials supply chains
after 2030;-

the consistency between the Union environmental legislation and this regulation,in particular in relation to the priority status of the strategic projects;-

the availability of information on waste volumes and strategic raw material content
for relevant waste streams;-

the appropriateness of establishing benchmarks targeting 2040 and 2050 on
aggregated level and per strategic raw material;-

the impact of the Joint purchasing system set up pursuant to Article 24 oncompetition in the internal market;-

the appropriateness of establishing further measures to increase the collection,sorting and processing of waste, in particular with a view to metal scraps,
including ferrous scraps.

Based on the report, the Commission shall present, where appropriate, relevant
legislative proposals.

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Article 47
Entry into force
1

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publicationin the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.

Articles 40 and 41 shall apply from 5 years after the entry into force.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

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For the Council
The President

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Annex I

STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALSSECTION 1
LIST OF STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALSThe following raw materials shall be considered strategic:(-a) Bauxite/Alumina/Aluminium(a)Bismuth(b)

Boron - metallurgy grade(c)

Cobalt(d)

Copper(e)

Gallium(f)Germanium(g)

Lithium - battery grade(h)Magnesium metal(i)Manganese - battery grade(j)▌ Graphite - battery grade(k)Nickel - battery grade(l)Platinum Group Metals(m) Rare Earth Elements for magnets (Nd, Pr, Tb, Dy, Gd, Sm, and Ce)(n)16127/23
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Silicon metal

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(o)

Titanium metal(p)Tungsten

SECTION 2
METHODOLOGY TO SELECT STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALS
1.

2.

The strategic importance shall be determined based on the relevance of a raw material forthe green and digital transition as well as defence and aerospace applications, according to
the following criteria:(a)the amount of strategic technologies using a raw material as an input;(b)

the amount of a raw material needed for manufacturing relevant strategic
technologies;(c)the expected global demand for relevant strategic technologies.

The forecasted demand growth (DF/C,τ) shall be calculated as follows:

where:DFτ is the global annual demand forecast for a raw material in year τ;GSτο is the global annual production of a raw material for a reference period, τ0.

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3.

The difficulty of increasing production shall be determined taking into account at least:(a)the current global annual production scale ▌ of a raw material;▌(b)

the reserves-production ratio ▌ of a raw material, based on known reserves of
economically extractable geological resources and current global annual
production;(c)lead-times for new projects increasing supply capacity, when reliable information
is available.

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Annex II

CRITICAL RAW MATERIALSSECTION 1
LIST OF CRITICAL RAW MATERIALSThe following raw materials shall be considered critical:(a)Antimony(b)

Arsenic(c)

Bauxite/Alumina/Aluminium(d)

Baryte(e)Beryllium(f)

Bismuth

(g)

Boron

(h)

Cobalt(i)

Coking Coal(j)

Copper(k)

Feldspar(l)

Fluorspar(m) Gallium(n)Germanium(o)Hafnium

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(p)

Helium(q)

Heavy Rare Earth Elements(r)Light Rare Earth Elements(s)Lithium(t)

Magnesium(u)

Manganese(v)▌ Graphite(w) Nickel – battery grade(x)

Niobium(y)Phosphate rock(z)

Phosphorus(aa) Platinum Group Metals(bb) Scandium(cc) Silicon metal(dd) Strontium(ee) Tantalum(ff)

Titanium metal(gg) Tungsten

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(hh) Vanadium

SECTION 2
CALCULATION OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE AND SUPPLY RISK1.

The economic importance (EI) of the assessed raw material is calculated as follows:

where:s denotes the NACE (2-digit level) sectors of the economy;
As is the share of end use of the assessed raw material in a NACE (2-digit level) sector(using EU values when available, global shares otherwise);
Qs is the value added of the relevant sector at the NACE (2-digit level), as a share of thetotal economy;
SIEI is the substitution index related to economic importance.

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2.

The substitution index of the assessed raw material related to economic importance (SIEI)
is calculated, based on its most relevant industrial applications, as follows:

where:
i denotes an individual substitute material;a denotes an individual application of the raw material;
SPPi,a;EI is the Economic Importance performance parameter of each substitute material,i, compared to the assessed raw material, based on technical performance, including
functionality, and cost performance, for each application, a;
Sharea is the share of the raw materials in an end-use application;
Sub-_sharei,a is the sub-share of each substitute within each application.
3.

The supply risk (SR) of the assessed raw material is calculated as follows:

where:
GS denotes the global annual production of the assessed raw material ▌ ;EU_sourcing denotes the actual sourcing of the supply to the EU, i.e. EU domestic
production plus EU imports from extra-EU countries;

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HHI is the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (used as a proxy for concentration of supply
across countries);
WGI is an index based on the scaled World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators(used as a proxy for country governance);
tc is the trade parameter adjusting WGI, which shall be determined taking into accountpotential export taxes (possibly mitigated by a trade agreement in force), physical export
quotas or export prohibitions imposed by a country, c.
▌
EoLRIR is the end-of-life recycling input rate, meaning the ratio of secondary material
inputs (recycled from old scrap) to all inputs of a raw material (primary and secondary);
SISR is the substitution index related to supply risk;
IR is import reliance.
4.

The import reliance, IR, of raw materials is calculated as follows:5.

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHIWGI) of the assessed raw material is calculated asfollows:

where:

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Sc is the share of country c in the ▌ supply (GS or EU_sourcing) of the assessed raw
material;
WGIc is an index based on the scaled World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators ofcountry c;tc is the trade parameter of a country adjusting the WGI, which shall be determined taking
into account potential export taxes (possibly mitigated by a trade agreement in force),
physical export quotas or export prohibitions imposed by a country, c.
6.

The substitution index of the assessed raw material related to supply risk (SISR) is
calculated as follows:

where:
i denotes an individual substitute material;a denotes an individual application of the candidate material;▌▌▌
SPPi;SR is the Supply Risk performance parameter of each substitute material, i, basedon its global production, criticality and economic significance (primary product, coproduct, by-product)
Sharea is the share of the candidate materials in an end-use application;

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ENSub_sharei,a is the sub-share of each substitute within each application.
7.

Where structural or statistical changes affect the measurement of economic importance andsupply risk horizontally for all assessed materials, the corresponding values shall becorrected to offset such changes.
The calculations of the formulas in this section shall be based on an average of the last 5
years for which data is available. The priority, quality and availability of data shall betaken into account.

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Annex III

ASSESSMENT OF THE RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR STRATEGIC PROJECTS
1.

Whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (a)shall be assessed taking into account:(a)whether the project contributes towards the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), point
(a);

(b)

whether the project contributes to maintaining or strengthening Union capacities as ashare of the Union's annual consumption of strategic raw material, taking into
account the expected increase in Union consumption;(bb) whether the project contributes to strengthening Union capacity to produce
innovative raw materials able to substitute strategic raw material in one or morestrategic technologies, while taking measures to achieve an equal or lower
environmental footprint compared to the strategic raw material that is substituted.
A project's contribution to the relevant capacity benchmark shall be assessed taking into
account the project's business plan and supporting technical information included in theapplication and the project's estimated time-to-market.
2.

Whether a project in a third country, or OCTs, fulfils the criterion referred to in Article
5(1), point (a) shall be assessed taking into account:(a)

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whether the project contributes to the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), point (b) orcontributes to maintaining the resilience of the Union's supply of strategic raw
materials;

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(b)

whether the applicable legal framework or other conditions provide assurance that
trade and investment related to the project will not be distorted, taking into accountnotably whether the Union has concluded a Strategic Partnership referred to in
Article 33 or a trade agreement containing a chapter on raw materials with therelevant third country, or OCTs, and is consistent with the Union’s common
commercial policy;(c)the extent to which there are companies that have or are willing to conclude off-takeagreements with the project promoter with a view to using or processing the strategic
raw materials produced by the relevant projects in the Union;(d)whether the project is in line with the Union’s development cooperation and foreign
policy objectives.

A project's contribution to the benchmarks referred to in point (a) shall be assessed taking
into account the project's business plan and supporting technical information included in
the application, the project's estimated time-to-market as well as the share of the project's
output that is covered by existing or potential off-take agreements referred to in point (c).
Evidence related to point (c) may include contractual agreements, letters of intent or
memoranda of understanding.
3.

Whether a project fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (b), shall be assessedtaking into account:(a)the quality of the feasibility studies performed on the potential of development of the
project;(b)whether the technology intended to be used has been demonstrated in the relevant
environment.

The feasibility studies referred to in point (a) shall be designed to:(a)16127/23
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technological and environmental considerations;

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(b)

identify potential technical issues and problems that could arise while pursuing the
project.

Further studies may be required to confirm the feasibility of the project.
4.

Whether projects located in the Union fulfil the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(c), shall be assessed taking into account an overall assessment of a project’s compliancewith relevant Union or national legislation as well as relevant supplementary evidence,taking into account the location of the project.
Whether projects in third countries fulfil the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(c), shall be assessed taking into account compliance with the following international
instruments and applicable national legislation where it provides sufficient assurance ofcompliance with the criterion or aspects of it:▌▌(c)

ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises andSocial Policy;(d)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, in particular theguidelines related to combatting corruption;(e)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from
Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas;(f)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the
Extractive Sector, including where referring to the principles set out in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;(g)OECD Principles of Corporate Governance;(h)OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct;(i)

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

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(ib) IFC Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement;
Project promoters may also attest compliance with the criterion referred to in Article 5(1),point (c) by:

5.

6.

(a)

providing evidence that the project concerned is individually certified by one ormore schemes recognised according to Article 29(2) that jointly cover all
requirements listed in Annex IV point (b) ; or(b)committing to obtain certification for the project concerned as part of by one or more
schemes recognised according to Article 29(2) that jointly cover all requirements
listed in Annex IV point (b) , and providing sufficient evidence that when
implemented the project concerned will be able to meet the criteria for suchcertification.

Whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (d),shall be assessed taking into account:(a)whether companies from different Member States participate in the project;(b)

whether potential off-takers are located also in more than one Member State;(c)effects on the availability of strategic raw materials for downstream users in morethan one Member State.

Whether a project in a third country fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(e), shall be assessed taking into account the extent to which the project contributes, in therelevant third country:(a)to strengthening more than one stage of the raw materials value chain in that country
or its wider region;(b)

to fostering private investment in the domestic raw materials value chain;(c)to the creation of wider economic or social benefits, including the creation of
employment.

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Annex IV

CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
A recognised certification scheme shall meet the following criteria:(a)

it is open under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms to all economic operators
willing and able to comply with the scheme’s requirements and it is of multi-stakeholder
governance;(b)

the requirements for certification shall include at least:(i)

requirements ensuring environmentally sustainable practices, including requirements
ensuring environmental management and impact mitigation in the following
environmental risk categories:(ia) air, including air pollution such as greenhouse gas emissions;(ib) water, including seabed and marine environment, and water pollution, water use,water quantities (flooding or droughts) and access to water;(ic) soil, including soil pollution, soil erosion, land use and land degradation;(id) biodiversity, including damage to habitats, wildlife, flora and ecosystems, including
ecosystem services;(ie) hazardous substances;(if)

noise and vibration;(ig) plant safety;(ih) energy use;(ii)

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waste and residues;

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(ii)

requirements for ensuring socially responsible practices, including respect for humanrights and labour rights including the community life of indigenous peoples;(iii) requirements for ensuring business integrity and transparency including requirements
to apply sound management of financial, environmental and social matters and anticorruption and anti-bribery policies;(c)verification and monitoring of compliance is objective, based on international, Union or
national standards, requirements and procedures and carried out independently from therelevant economic operator;(d)

it includes sufficient requirements and procedures to ensure the competence andindependence of responsible verifiers.

(da)it includes requirements to ensure an audit-report established at the site level.

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Annex V

ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTPart I
Definitions
For the purposes of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:(a)‘Activity data’ means the information associated with processes while modelling Life
Cycle Inventories (LCI). The aggregated LCI results of the process chains that represent
the activities of a process are each multiplied by the corresponding activity data and then
combined to derive the environmental footprint associated with that process;(b)‘Bill of materials’ means list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies,
sub-components, parts and the quantities of each needed to manufacture the product inscope of the study;(c)‘Company-specific data’ refers to directly measured or collected data from one or multiple
facilities (site-specific data) that are representative for the activities of the company. It issynonymous to “primary data”;(d)'Impact assessment method' means the protocol for quantitative translation of life cycle
inventory data into contributions to an environmental impact of concern;(e)'Impact category' means a class of resource use or environmental impact to which the life
cycle inventory data are related;(f)‘Life cycle’ means the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw
material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal (ISO14040:2006);

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(g)

‘Life cycle inventory (LCI)’ means the combined set of exchanges of elementary, waste
and product flows in a LCI dataset;(h)‘Life cycle inventory (LCI) dataset’ means a document or file with life cycle informationof a specified product or other reference (e.g., site, process), covering descriptive metadataand quantitative life cycle inventory. A LCI dataset could be a unit process dataset,partially aggregated or an aggregated dataset;(i)‘Secondary data’ means data not from a specific process within the supply-chain of thecompany performing an environmental footprint study. This refers to data that is notdirectly collected, measured, or estimated by the company, but sourced from a third party
LCI database or other sources. Secondary data includes industry average data (e.g., frompublished production data, government statistics, and industry associations), literaturestudies, engineering studies and patents, and may also be based on financial data, andcontain proxy data, and other generic data. Primary data that go through a horizontal
aggregation step are considered as secondary data;(j)‘System boundary’ means the aspects included or excluded from the life cycle study.

Additionally, the calculation rules for the environmental footprint of a critical raw material shall
include any further definition necessary for their interpretation.

Part II
Scope
This Annex provides essential elements on how to calculate the environmental footprint of criticalraw materials.

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The calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw materials shall build on
the essential elements included in this Annex, taking into account scientifically sound assessment
methods and relevant international standards in the area of life cycle assessment.
The calculation of the environmental footprint of a critical raw material shall be based on the bill ofmaterial, the energy, production methods, and auxiliary materials used at the facilities involved on
the production of critical raw material.
When establishing calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw
materials, the Commission shall aim to ensure consistency with calculation rules for theenvironmental footprint of intermediate and final products making use of the relevant critical raw
materials.

Part III
Declared unit
The declared unit shall be 1 kg of the relevant critical raw material type.
The calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw materials may specify ahigher of lower declared unit, expressed in kg, where necessary to take into account the nature or
use of the relevant critical raw material.
All quantitative input and output data collected by the manufacturer to quantify the carbon footprint
shall be calculated in relation to this declared unit.

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Part IV
System boundary
Extraction, concentration and refining are the three life cycle stages to be included in the systemboundary of primary critical raw materials with the following processes (when relevant to thespecific raw material):(a)

Upstream processes including the extraction of ore for raw material production, production
and supply (including transport) of chemicals, auxiliaries, production and supply(including transport) of fuels, production and supply of electricity, and transport ofmaterials in vehicles not owned or operated by the organisation;(b)Transport of ore, concentrates and raw materials in vehicles owned or operated by theorganisation;(c)Storage of ore, concentrates and raw materials;(d)

Ore crushing and cleaning;(e)

Raw material concentrate production;(f)

Metal extraction (by chemical, physical of biological means);(g)Smelting;(h)

Metal conversion;(i)

Slag cleaning;(j)

Metal refining;(k)

Metal electrolysis;(l)

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(m)

Spent material and slag treatment;(n)

All related auxiliary processes such as waste water treatment (on site, including fortreatment of process waters, direct cooling, water and surface run off water), gas abatement
systems (including for primary and secondary off gases, boilers (including pre-treatment offeed water), internal logistics.

In the system boundary of secondary critical raw materials (defining the recycling life cycle stage),the following processes (when relevant to the specific recycled raw material) shall be included:(a)

Upstream processes including the generation of raw feed material (scrap materials andvirgin copper concentrates, the production and supply (transport) of chemicals, auxiliaries,
production and supply (transport) of fuels, the production and supply of electricity, and thetransport of materials in vehicles not owned by the organisation;(b)Transport of concentrates and scraps in vehicles owned or operated by the organisation;(c)Storage of scraps, concentrates and raw materials;(d)Secondary material pre-treatment;(e)Smelting;(f)

Metal conversion;(g)

Metal refining;(h)

Metal electrolysis;(i)

Metal casting or packaging;(j)

Spent material treatment;

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(k)

All related auxiliary processes such as waste water treatment (on site, including fortreatment of process waters, direct cooling, water and surface run off water), gas abatement
systems (including for primary and secondary off gases, boilers (including pre-treatment offeed water), and internal logistics.

The use phase or end-of-life phase shall be excluded from the environmental footprint calculations,
as it is not under the direct influence of the responsible economic operator. Other processes may be
excluded where their contribution to the environmental footprint of a specific critical raw material isinsignificant.

Part V
Impact categories
The calculation rules shall specify the impact categories that need to be included in theenvironmental footprint calculation. The choice shall be based on the hotspot analysis performed inline with scientifically sound methodologies developed at international level and taking into account
the:
(a)

relative importance of different impacts, including their relative importance for meeting
Union climate and environmental objectives;(b)needs of downstream companies wishing to communicate on the environmental footprintof the critical raw materials they use.

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Part VI
Use of company specific and secondary datasets
The calculation rules shall specify the use of company specific or secondary datasets for all relevant
processes and materials. If calculation rules allow for the choice between a company specificdataset and a secondary dataset, the Commission shall consider incentivising the use thecompany specific dataset.
The use of company-specific data shall be required at least for the processes under the direct
influence of the responsible operator and have the largest contribution to the relevant impact
categories.
The company specific activity data shall be used in combination with the relevant Environmental
Footprint compliant secondary datasets. The calculation rules should specify whether sampling isallowed, in line with the criteria set out in scientifically sound methodologies developed atinternational level.
A change in the bill of materials or energy mix used to produce a critical raw material type requires
a new calculation of the environmental footprint.
When setting calculation rules, including for the greenhouse gas emissions generated by theelectricity used for the production of critical raw materials, the Commission shall ensure
consistency with other relevant Union legislation and alignment with that legislation, unlessjustified.
The calculation rules to be elaborated via a delegated act shall include detailed modelling of thefollowing lifecycle stages:(a)Primary raw material extraction, concentration and refining stage;16127/23
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(b)

Secondary raw material acquisition and processing stage.

Part VII
Impact assessment methods
The environmental footprint shall be calculated using scientifically sound impact assessment
methods which take into account developments on the international level for relevant impact
categories related to climate change, water, air, soil, resources, land use and toxicity.
The results shall be provided as characterised results (without normalisation and weighting).

Part VIII
Environmental footprint performance classes
Depending on the distribution of the values of the environmental footprint declarations placed on
the internal market, a meaningful number of classes of performance shall be identified, withcategory A being the best class with the lowest life cycle impact, to allow for market differentiation.
The identification of the threshold for each class of performance, as well as their width, will bebased on the distribution of performances of the relevant critical raw materials placed on the market
in the previous 3 years, the expected technological improvements, and other technical factors to be
identified.

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The Commission shall review the number of performance classes and the thresholds between themevery 3 years in order to keep them representative of the market reality and its expecteddevelopment.

Part IX
Conformity assessment
The calculation and verification rules shall specify the applicable conformity assessment procedurefrom among the modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC, with the adaptations
necessary in view of the material concerned.
When specifying the applicable conformity assessment procedure, the Commission shall consider
the following criteria:(a)whether the module concerned is appropriate to the type of material and proportionate to
the public interest pursued;(b)the nature of the risks entailed by the product and the extent to which conformity
assessment corresponds to the type and degree of risk;(c)where third party involvement is mandatory, the need for the manufacturer to have a
choice between quality assurance and product certification modules set out in Annex II of
Decision No 768/2008/EC.

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▌
▌
_______________________

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2023/0079 (COD)

Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw
materials and amending Regulations (EU) 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU)2019/1020(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee21,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,21

OJ C , , p. .

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Whereas:(1)

Access to raw materials is essential for the Union economy and the functioning of theinternal market. There is a set of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials that, due to theirhigh economic importance and their exposure to high supply risk, often caused by a highconcentration of supply from a few third countries, are considered critical. Given the keyrole of many such critical raw materials in realising the green and digital transitions, and inlight of their use for defence and space applications, demand will increase exponentially inthe coming decades. At the same time, the risk of supply disruptions is increasing against thebackground of rising geopolitical tensions and resource competition. Furthermore, if not
managed properly, increased demand for critical raw materials could lead to negativeenvironmental and social impacts. ▌(1c)Given the complexity and the transnational character of critical raw material value
chains, uncoordinated national measures to ensure a secure and sustainable supply ofcritical raw materials risk undermining the functioning of the internal market. Criticalraw materials are often extracted in specific countries or regions, depending on thegeographical distribution of relevant reserves, transported for further processing
elsewhere and then sold across the internal market for use in relevant products. At theprocessing stage, critical raw materials are often imported and exported several times
within the internal market before use in a final application. Similarly, recycling of
relevant products at end of life with a view to the recovery of critical raw materials may
take place in a different country or region than where relevant waste is collected, and theresulting secondary materials are likely to be reexported for further processing and use.
In addition, critical raw materials are needed at the beginning of many industrial value
chains and are often indispensable inputs for a wide set of strategic sectors including
renewable energy, the digital industry, and the aerospace and defence sectors. They
therefore play an essential role in underpinning economic activities in the internal market
and disruptions in their supply could have a significant cross-border impact between
Member States.

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(1d)

Against this background, uncoordinated actions by Member States risks distorting
competition and fragmenting the internal market, for example by imposing diverging
regulation for market operators, providing different levels of access to supply risk
monitoring, providing different levels of support to national projects, or by creating
obstacles to cross-border trade between Member States in critical raw materials or related
goods thus creating obstacles to the proper functioning of the internal market. In
addition, individual actions of Member States may not be sufficient to effectively prevent
supply disruptions of critical raw materials from taking place or may be less efficient inachieving that aim.

(2)

Therefore, to safeguard the functioning of the internal market, a common Union
framework should be created to ensure access to a secure and sustainable supply of criticalraw materials and to safeguard the ▌ Union’s economic resilience and open strategic
autonomy.

(3)Firstly, that framework should define those raw materials that are considered strategic andcritical and strengthen the resilience of supply chains for those materials in the Union,
including by identifying and supporting Strategic Projects, and by undertaking efforts toincentivise technological progress and resource efficiency in order to moderate theexpected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials. Secondly, it is necessary
to provide measures to reinforce the Union’s ability to monitor and mitigate existing andfuture supply risks. Thirdly, the framework should contain measures to increase thecircularity and sustainability of the critical raw materials consumed in the Union.

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(4)

In order to ensure that the measures set out in the Regulation focus on the most relevantmaterials, a list of strategic raw materials and a list of critical raw materials should beestablished. Those lists should be based on clear methodologies, on the application ofwhich the Commission should communicate openly and transparently. Those lists should
also serve to guide and coordinate Member States’ efforts to contribute to the realisation of
the aims of this Regulation. The list of strategic raw materials should contain raw materials
that are of high strategic importance for the functioning of the internal market, taking into
account their use in strategic technologies underpinning the green and digital transitions orfor defence or aerospace applications, that are characterised by a potentially significant gap
between global supply and projected demand, and for which an increase in production isrelatively difficult, for instance due to long lead-times for new projects increasing supply
capacity. To take account of possible technological and economic changes, the list of
strategic raw materials should be periodically reviewed and, if necessary, updated. In orderto ensure that efforts to increase the Union capacities along the value chain, reinforce theUnion’s capacity to monitor and mitigate supply risks and increase diversification of supply
are focused on the materials for which they are most needed, certain relevant measures
should only apply to the list of strategic raw materials. Member States should not be
prevented from creating additional lists based on specific national needs, and act on themaccordingly on a national level.

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(5)

The list of critical raw materials should contain all strategic raw materials as well as anyother raw materials of high importance for the overall Union economy and for which there isa high risk of supply disruption likely to distort competition and fragment the internalmarket. In addition to the strategic technologies, also other sectors might be exposed tohigh supply risks in the future. To take account of possible technological and economicchanges, the Commission should, in continuation of current practice, periodically perform
an assessment based on data for production, trade, applications, recycling, and substitution
for a wide range of raw materials to update the lists of critical and strategic raw materials
reflecting the evolution in the economic importance and supply risk associated with those
raw materials in the internal market. The list of critical raw materials should include those
raw materials which reach or exceed the thresholds for both economic importance andsupply risk, without ranking the relevant raw materials in terms of criticality. This
assessment should be based on an average of the latest available data over a 5-year-period.
The measures set out in this Regulation related to the point of single contact, planning,
exploration, monitoring, circularity, and sustainability should apply to all critical raw
materials.

(5a)

The strategic and critical raw materials lists should use established designations for the
raw materials included. For the strategic raw materials list, the designations should refer,
where appropriate, to the grade to which a raw material has to be refined in order to be
used for the manufacturing of strategic technologies. References to critical and strategic
raw materials should be understood to refer to the entire value chain of those raw
materials, including in their unprocessed form and at all stages of processing leading up,
where applicable, to the specified grade. An exceptional clarification should be made forthe aluminium value chain, mentioning bauxite, its most important ore, and alumina, its
intermediate processing form, in addition to aluminium. Critical and strategic raw
materials are, in many cases, extracted, processed or recycled as by-products of othermain extraction, processing and recycling processes. Therefore, the by-product nature of
raw materials should not affect their inclusion on the list or their coverage by the relevant
provisions throughout the Regulation.

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(5b)

It is necessary to put in place appropriate measures to define a common approach toStrategic Projects in the Union active in the extraction, processing or recycling ofstrategic raw materials or which contribute to the production of relevant substitutematerials. These projects should, together with Member State efforts, contribute toincreasing capacities to ensure a secure supply of strategic raw materials. Other
measures, notably on exploration or circularity, should also contribute to thereinforcement of different stages of the value chain.

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(6)

To decrease the Union's growing risk of supply disruptions likely to distort competition
and fragment the internal market, Commission and Member States should strengthen the
different stages of the value chain of strategic raw materials, in order to contribute toachieving benchmarks related to Union’s capacities and diversification of supply. Such
benchmarks should help to guide efforts to strengthen Union capacities along all stages ofthe strategic raw materials value chain, including extraction, processing and recycling, andincrease the diversification of external supplies of strategic raw materials. The aim should
be to increase capacities for each strategic raw material at each stage of the value chain,
while aiming to achieve overall capacity benchmarks at Union level for extraction,
processing and recycling of strategic raw materials. Firstly, the Union should increase theuse of its own geological resources of strategic raw materials and build up capacity to allow
it to extract the materials needed to produce at least 10 % of the Union's consumption ofstrategic raw materials. Keeping in mind that extraction capacity is highly dependent on theavailability of Union geological resources, the achievement of this benchmark is dependent
on such availability. Secondly, in order to build a full value chain and prevent any
bottlenecks at intermediate stages, the Union should in addition increase its processing
capacity along the value chain and be able to produce at least 40% of its annual consumptionof strategic raw materials. Thirdly, it is expected that in the coming decades a growing shareof the Union's consumption of strategic raw materials can be covered by secondary raw
materials, which would improve both the security and the sustainability of the Union’s raw
materials supply. Therefore, Union recycling capacity should be able to produce at least
25% of the Union’s annual consumption of strategic raw materials and is able to recycle
significantly increasing amounts of each strategic raw material in waste. For waste
streams and strategic raw materials for which sufficient information is available toestimate the Union’s recycling capacity as a share of the strategic raw materials containedin those waste streams, an additional waste-based benchmark should be set.
Accompanying efforts to improve resource efficiency through research and innovation,
substitution, awareness-raising and other relevant measures will also facilitate theattainment of these benchmarks.

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These benchmarks refer to the 2030 time horizon, in alignment with the Union's climate andenergy targets set under Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of theCouncil1 and the digital targets under the Digital Decade2, which they underpin.
Furthermore, quality jobs, including skills development and job-to-job transitions, willaddress risks in the sectoral labour market and help ensure the EU’s competitiveness. The
Commission and Member States should also incentivise technological progress andresource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase in Union consumption ofcritical raw materials below appropriate reference projections. In the context of preparing
implementing measures in the Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign
requirements for energy-related products, the Commission should consider the possible
contribution of ecodesign requirements to the achievement of the Union priorities set out
in this Regulation.
(7)

For some raw materials, the Union is almost fully dependent on a single country for its
supply. Such dependencies create a high risk of supply disruptions likely to distortcompetition and fragment the internal market. To limit such potential risk and increase theUnion’s economic resilience, efforts should be undertaken to ensure that, by 2030, theUnion is not dependent on a single third country for more than 65% of its supply of any
strategic raw material, unprocessed and at any stage of processing, giving however special
consideration to countries with whom the Union has established a Strategic Partnership, afree trade agreement or other forms of cooperation covering raw materials, as they provide
greater assurances regarding supply risks.

(8)▌ To ensure that the benchmarks are met in time, the Commission, with the help of theEuropean Critical Raw Materials Board (‘the Board’) should track and report progress
towards the benchmarks and towards the demand moderation. In case the reported progress
towards the benchmarks and towards the demand moderation is generally insufficient, theCommission should assess the feasibility and proportionality of additional measures. A lackof progress only on a single or small set of strategic raw material should in principle nottrigger the need for additional Union efforts.

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(9)

▌The Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in theUnion that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw
materials, or in the production and scale-up of materials that can substitute strategic raw
materials in strategic technologies. Effective support to Strategic Projects has the potential
to improve access to materials for downstream sectors as well as to create economic
opportunities along the value chain, including for SMEs, and contribute to the creation of
employment. Therefore, to ensure the development of Strategic Projects across the Union,such projects should benefit from streamlined and predictable permitting procedures andsupport in gaining access to finance which could inspire improvements in other permitting
procedures and in access to finance for critical or other raw materials. In order to focus
support and ensure their added value, projects should, before receiving such support, beassessed against a set of criteria. Raw material projects where strategic raw materials are aby-product should also be eligible for such support, if they meet all relevant criteria. In
order to be recognised as Strategic Projects in the Union, projects should strengthen theUnion's security of supply for strategic raw materials. Projects should also show sufficienttechnical feasibility including the expected volume of strategic raw materials or substitutematerials by which they increase Union capacity, excluding materials produced forresearch purposes. Projects should additionally be implemented in an environmentally andsocially sustainable manner. They should also provide cross-border benefits beyond theMember State concerned, including spill-over effects further down the value chain. Where
the Commission assesses these criteria to be fulfilled, it should publish the recognition as aStrategic Project in a decision. As a speedy recognition is key to effectively supporting theUnion's security of supply, the assessment process should remain light and not overly
burdensome.

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(9a)

When assessing whether a project in third country fulfils the criterion of security ofsupply, it should notably be taken into account for OCTs of their status under Union law.
The overseas countries and territories of the Member States contribute to the Union's safe
access to a sustainable supply of critical and strategic raw materials, particularly within
the framework of strategic partnerships.

(10)▌The Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in third
countries or in the overseas countries and territories that intend to become active in theextraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials, or in the production ofmaterials that can substitute strategic raw materials in strategic technologies. To ensurethat such Strategic Projects are effectively implemented, they should benefit from improved
access to finance , for instance through access to de-risking mechanisms for investment. In
order to ensure their added value, projects should be assessed against a set of criteria. Like
projects in the Union, Strategic Projects in third countries should strengthen the Union's
security of supply for strategic raw materials, show sufficient technical feasibility. Bothprojects in the Union and in third countries, or OCTs, need to adhere to the same level ofsocial and environmental sustainability. For projects in emerging markets and developing
economies, the project should be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country
involved and add value in that country, taking into account also its consistency with theUnion’s common commercial policy. Such value may be derived from the project’s
contribution to more than one stage of the value chain as well as from creating through the
project wider economic and social benefits, including the creation of employment incompliance with international standards. Where the Commission assesses these criteria to be
fulfilled, it should publish the recognition as a Strategic Project in a decision.

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(11)

In order to ensure the sustainability of increased critical raw material production, newcritical raw materials projects should be planned and implemented sustainably covering all
aspects of sustainability highlighted in the EU principles for sustainable raw materials 22,
including ensuring environmental protection, the prevention and minimisation of sociallyadverse impacts through the use of socially sustainable practices, including respect forhuman rights such as the rights of women, and transparent business practices. Projects
should also ensure engagement in good faith as well as comprehensive and equitableconsultations with relevant stakeholders such as local communities and indigenous
peoples. Special attention should be paid to respect for human rights where a project
involves potential resettlement. To provide project promoters with a clear and efficient way
of complying with this criterion, compliance with relevant Union or national legislation,international standards, guidelines and principles, as relevant, or participation in a
certification scheme recognised under this Regulation should be considered sufficient.

(11a) In line with the precautionary principle the Commission cannot grant the strategic status
to a deep sea mining project before the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine
environment, biodiversity and human activities have been sufficiently researched, therisks are understood and technologies and operational practices are able to demonstratethat the environment is not seriously harmed.

22

European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs, EU principles for sustainable raw materials, Publications
Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2873/27875

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(12)

Any promoter of a strategic raw materials project should be able to apply to the Commission
for the recognition of their project as a Strategic Project. The application should include
relevant documents and evidence related to the criteria. To better assess the social,environmental and economic viability, the feasibility of the project as well as the level ofconfidence in the estimates, the project promoter should also provide a classification of the
project according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources, and toallow for objective validation, they should support this classification with relevant evidence.
A timetable for the project should also be attached to an application, in order to estimate
when the project would be able to contribute towards the benchmarks for domestic capacity
or for diversification. As public acceptance of mining projects is crucial for their effective
implementation, the promoter should also provide a plan containing measures to facilitate
public acceptance. Special attention should be paid to social partners, civil society and otheroversight actors. The promoter should also provide a business plan providing information
regarding the project’s financial viability and giving an overview of funding., the ownership
structure and off-take agreements already secured as well as estimates for potential job
creation and for the project’s needs in terms of skilled workforce, including upskilling andreskilling. In order to harmonise the application process, the Commission should provide
a single template for applications.

(12a) Additionally, for projects with the potential to affect indigenous peoples, the application
should also include a plan containing measures dedicated to the meaningful consultationof affected indigenous peoples, the prevention and minimisation of adverse impacts on
indigenous peoples, and, where appropriate, fair compensation. If these concepts are
addressed by the national law applicable to the project, the plan might describe thesemeasures instead. For projects in third countries involving extraction, which are notcovered by Directive 2006/21/EC, the project promoter should also provide a plan to
improve the environmental state of the affected sites after the end of extraction. If the
project is located in a protected area, the project promoter should assess technicallyappropriate alternative locations and describe them in a plan, including why they are notconsidered appropriate for the location of the project.

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(13)

To structure the process, the Commission should organise an open call with regular cutoff dates, corresponding to meeting dates of the Board, for project promoters to apply forthe status of Strategic Projects. To provide clarity for project promoters regarding theirapplications for Strategic Projects, the Commission should adhere to timelines for its
decision on whether to designate a project as strategic. To accommodate particularlycomplex cases or a generally high number of applications at one cut-off date, theCommission should be able to extend this deadline once. It should share its assessmentwith the Board ahead of its meeting and take the Board’s opinion into account in its
decision whether to award the status of Strategic Project.

(14)

As the cooperation of the Member State on whose territory a Strategic Project will be
implemented is necessary to ensure its effective implementation, that Member State shouldhave the right to object to and thereby prevent that a project is granted the status of Strategic
Project against its will. If it does so, the relevant Member State should provide a reasoned
justification for its refusal referring to the applicable criteria. Similarly, the Union should notgrant the status of Strategic Project to projects that will be implemented by a third country,
including Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), against the will of its governmentand should therefore refrain from doing so where a third country government objects.

(15)

To prevent misuse, the recognition of a Strategic Project should, where justified, be able tobe repealed by the Commission, after consulting with the Board and the responsible
project promoter if it no longer fulfils the conditions or the recognition was based on an
application containing incorrect information relevant to the assessment of the selection
criteria. In order to attract long-term investments and ensure legal predictability, in caseof updates of the strategic raw materials list in Annex I, a Strategic Project should still
maintain its status for a reasonable period.

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(16)

In light of their importance for ensuring the security of supply of strategic raw materials andsafeguard the functioning of the internal market, Strategic Projects should be considered
to be in the public interest. Ensuring the security of supply of strategic raw materials is of
crucial importance for the success of the green and digital transitions as well as theresilience of the defence and aerospace sectors. To contribute towards security of supply ofstrategic raw materials in the Union, Member States may provide for support in national
permit granting procedures to speed up the realisation of Strategic Projects in accordancewith Union law.

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(17)

National permit-granting processes ensure that critical raw materials projects are safe,
secure and comply with environmental, social and safety requirements. Union
environmental legislation sets common conditions for the process and content of national
permit-granting processes, thereby ensuring a high level of environmental protection andallowing for the sustainable exploitation of the Union's potential along the raw materials
value chain. Being granted the status of Strategic Project should therefore be without
prejudice to any applicable permitting conditions for the relevant projects, including thoseset out in Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 23, Council
Directive 92/43/EEC24, Directive 2000/60/EC25 of the European Parliament and of theCouncil, Directive 2010/75/EU26 of the European Parliament and of the Council and
Directive 2004/35/CE27 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directive
2009/147/EC28 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Directive 2006/21/EC29
of the European Parliament and of the Council.

23

Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011
on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 1-21).
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and ofwild fauna and flora (OJ L 206 22.7.1992, p. 7-50).
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327,
22.12.2000, p.1-73).
Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010
on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010,
p. 17-119).
Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on
environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental
damage (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56-75).
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November
2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7-25).
Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on
the management of waste from extractive industries and amending Directive 2004/35/EC Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (OJ L 102,
11.4.2006, p. 15-34).

24
25

26

27

28
29

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(18)

At the same time, the unpredictability, complexity and, at times, excessive length of national
permit-granting processes undermines the investment security needed for the effective
development of strategic raw material projects. The structure and length of a permit
granting process for relevant projects can also differ greatly between Member States.
Therefore, in order to ensure and speed up their effective implementation, Member Statesshould apply streamlined and predictable permitting procedures to Strategic Projects. To
that end, Strategic Projects should, where they exist, be given priority status at national level
to ensure rapid administrative treatment and urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute
resolution procedures relating to them. This Regulation should not prevent competentauthorities from streamlining permitting for other projects on the critical raw materials value
chain that are not Strategic Projects.

(19)

Given their role in ensuring the Union's security of supply for strategic raw materials, andtheir contribution to the Union's open strategic autonomy and the green and digitaltransition, Strategic Projects should be considered by the responsible permitting authority as
being in the public interest. Strategic Projects which have an adverse impact on theenvironment, to the extent it falls under the scope of Directive 2000/60/EC, Council
Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC30, or in the [Nature Restoration
Regulation] may be authorised where the responsible permitting authority concludes, basedon its case-by-case assessment, that the public interest served by the project overrides those
impacts, provided that all relevant conditions set out in those acts are met. ▌The case-bycase assessment should duly take into account the geological specificity of extraction sites,
which constrains decisions on location due to the absence of alternative locations for suchsites.

30

Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November
2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7).

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(20)

In order to reduce complexity and increase efficiency and transparency in permitting
process, project promoters of critical raw materials projects should be able to interact with apoint of single contact, which is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the entire
permit granting process. To that end, Member States should set up or designate one ormore points of single contact, while ensuring that project promoters have to interact onlywith one point of single contact. It should be for Member States to decide whether a pointof single contact is also an authority taking permitting decisions or not. To ensure theeffective implementation of their responsibilities, Member States should provide their pointsof single contact with sufficient personnel and resources. In addition, the promoter shouldhave the possibility to contact a relevant administrative unit within the point of single
contact, to ensure it has an accessible contact.

(20a) It should be for Member States to, in light of their internal organisation, choose whether
to set up or designate their point or points of single contact at the local, regional or
national level, or any other relevant administrative level. In addition, Member Statesshould be able to, at the administrative level they have chosen, set up or designate
different points of single contact that focus only on critical raw materials projects related
to a specific stage of the value chain, namely extraction, processing or recycling. At thesame time, project promoters should be able to easily identify the point of single contactthat is responsible for their project. To that end, Member States should ensure that, within
the geographical area corresponding to the administrative level at which they have chosen
to set up or designate their point or points of single contact, there is not more than one
point of single contact responsible per relevant value chain stage. As many critical raw
material projects cover more than one value chain stage, Member States should, in orderto prevent confusion, ensure that a single point of contact is designated for such projects
in a timely manner.

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(21)

In order to ensure clarity about the permitting status of Strategic Projects and to limit theeffectiveness of potential abusive litigation, while not undermining effective judicial review,
Member States should ensure that any dispute concerning the permit granting process for
Strategic Projects is resolved in a timely manner. To that end, the Member States should
ensure that applicants and project promoters have access to simple dispute settlement
procedure and that Strategic Projects are granted urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute
resolution procedures relating to the projects, if and to the extent, national law provides forsuch urgency procedures.

(22)

In order to allow citizens and businesses to directly enjoy the benefits of the internal market
without incurring an unnecessary additional administrative burden, Regulation (EU)2018/1724 of the European Parliament and the Council31, which established the Single
Digital Gateway, provides for general rules for the online provision of information,
procedures and assistance services relevant for the functioning of the internal market. The
information requirements and procedures covered by this Regulation should comply with therequirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724. In particular, it should be ensured that project
promoters of Strategic Project can access and complete any procedure related to the permit
granting process fully online, in line with Article 6(1) of and Annex II to Regulation (EU)2018/1724.

31

Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October
2018 establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures
and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No
1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 1-38).

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(23)

In order to provide project promoters and other investors with the security and clarity
needed to increase development of Strategic Projects, Member States should ensure that thepermit granting process related to such projects does not exceed pre-set time limits. For
Strategic Projects involving only processing or recycling, the length of the permit granting
process should not exceed 15 months. For Strategic Projects that involve extraction thelength of the permit granting process should, considering the complexity and extent of thepotential impacts involved, not exceed 27 months. However, the preparation of theenvironmental impact assessment report pursuant to Directive (2011/92/EU) is the
responsibility of the project promoter and should not be part of timelines to which
Member States are bound. To that end, the point of single contact should notify the date bywhich the promoter needs to submit the environmental impact assessment report, and any
period between that notified date and the actual submission of the report should not becounted towards the timeline. The same principle should apply where, after the required
consultations, the point of single contact notifies the promoter of the opportunity tosubmit additional information to complete the environmental impact assessment report. In
addition, in exceptional cases related to the nature, complexity, location or size of the
proposed project, Member States should be able to extend the timelines. Such exceptional
cases could include unforeseen circumstances triggering the need to add to or complete
environmental assessments related to the project.

(23a) To effectively achieve those time limits, Member States should ensure that the responsible
authorities have sufficient resources and personnel. Through the Technical Support
Instrument, set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/240, the Commission should support
Member States, upon their request, in designing, developing and implementing reforms
including the strengthening the administrative capacity related to national permitting,such as the point of single contact.

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(24)

The environmental assessments and authorisations required under Union law, including in
relation to water, soil, habitats and birds, are an integral part of the permit granting process
for a raw material project and an essential safeguard to ensure that negative environmental
impacts are prevented or minimised. However, in order to ensure that the permit granting
processes for Strategic Projects are predictable and timely, any potential to streamline therequired assessments and authorisations while not lowering the level of environmental
protection or the quality of the assessments should be realised. To that end, it should beensured that the necessary assessments are bundled through a joint or coordinatedprocedure to prevent unnecessary overlap. In addition, it should be ensured that project
promoters and responsible authorities explicitly agree on the scope of the bundledassessment before it is implemented to prevent unnecessary follow-up. Lastly, it should beensured that for the purposes of these procedures project promoters interact with a single
authority.

(25)

Land use conflicts can create barriers to the deployment of critical raw material projects.
Well-designed plans, including spatial plans and zoning, that take into account the potential
for implementing critical raw material projects and whose potential environmental impacts
are assessed, have the potential to help balance public goods and interests, decreasing therisk of conflict and accelerating the sustainable deployment of critical raw materials projects
in the Union. Responsible national, regional and local authorities should therefore consider
including provisions for critical raw materials projects when developing relevant plans. Thisis without prejudice to existing requirements to assess the potential environmental impactsof such plans and to the required quality of such assessments.

(26)

Within the Union, critical raw materials projects often face difficulties with access tofinance. Critical raw materials markets are often characterised by high volatility of prices,long lead times, high concentration and opacity. Additionally, financing for the sector
requires a high level of expert knowledge that is often lacking among financial institutions.
To overcome these factors and contribute towards ensuring a stable and reliable supply ofstrategic raw materials, Member States and the Commission should assist in access tofinance and administrative support.

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(27)

A strong European value chain is necessary to ensure security of supply to safeguard thefunctioning of the internal market and increasing capacities can only be achieved withadequate financial means, part of which can come from existing Union funds. Critical raw
materials projects, including Strategic Projects, could be eligible for support from suchfunds if the requirements of the respective programmes are met, for example related togeographical location, the environment or their contribution to innovation. The relevant
funds comprise cohesion policy programmes, such as the European Regional
Development fund, whose allocation of grant to promote regional cohesion may enable
SMEs to develop innovative projects, for instance linked to the reduction of energy
consumption in the processing of raw materials. The Just Transition Fund can also be
used to support such type of projects to the extent that they contribute to reducing thesocial and economic costs brought by the green transition. In addition, the Recovery and
Resilience Facility, particularly its RePowerEU chapter which focuses on energy security
and diversification of energy supply, can be mobilised to support projects involved, forinstance, in the recycling or recovery of raw materials. The Innovation Fund, whose
objective is notably to drive clean and innovative technologies towards the market, may
provide grants, for instance, to enable the development of recycling capacity of raw
materials related to low carbon technologies. Furthermore, InvestEU is the Union’s
flagship programme for boosting investment, especially in the green and digital transition,by providing financing and technical assistance. Through the use of blending
mechanisms, InvestEU contributes to the crowding-in of additional public and private
capital. The Commission will work with InvestEU implementing partners to ▌ scale up
support to and investment in relevant projects, in line with the common objectives set out inRegulation (EU) 2021/52332 and in this Regulation. Lastly, projects in third countries
contributing to the diversification of Union’s supply may be supported through relevant
funds, such as the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation
Instrument, and the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus.

32

Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021
establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (OJ 64,
26.3.2021, p. 30-89)

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(28)

In order to overcome the limitations of the currently often fragmented public and private
investments efforts, facilitate integration and return on investment, the Commission,
Member States and promotional banks should better coordinate and create synergies
between the existing funding programmes at Union and national level as well as ensure
better coordination and collaboration with industry and key private sector stakeholders. To
that end, a dedicated sub-group of the Board bringing together experts from the Member
States and the Commission as well as relevant public financial institutions should be set up.
This sub-group should discuss the individual financing needs of Strategic Projects and their
existing funding possibilities in order to provide project promoters with a suggestion on how
to best access existing financing possibilities. When discussing and making
recommendations for the financing of Strategic Projects in third countries, the Board shouldin particular take into account the Global Gateway strategy33.

(29)

Private investment by companies, financial investors and off takers is essential. Where
private investment alone is not sufficient, the effective roll-out of projects along the criticalraw material value chain may require public support, for example in the form of guarantees▌ loans or equity and quasi-equity investments. This public support may constitute State aid.
Such aid should have an incentive effect and be necessary, appropriate and proportionate.
The existing State aid guidelines, which have recently undergone an in-depth revision in linewith twin transition objectives, provide ample possibilities to support investments along thecritical raw materials value chain subject to certain conditions.

(30)

Public support is used to address specific identified market failures or sub-optimal
investment situations in a proportionate manner, and actions should not duplicate or crowdout private financing or distort competition in the internal market. Actions should have aclear added value for the Union.

33

Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment BankThe Global Gateway (JOIN/2021/30 final).

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(31)

The volatile prices of several strategic raw materials, exacerbated by limited means to hedge
them on forward markets, create an obstacle both for project promoters to secure financing
for strategic raw material projects as well as for downstream consumers looking to securestable and predictable prices for key inputs. In an effort to reduce uncertainty over future
prices for strategic raw materials and thereby limit supply risk to safeguard the functioningof the internal market, it is necessary to provide for the setting up of a system that enables
both interested off-takers and promoters of Strategic Projects to indicate their buying or
selling bids and to bring them in contact if the respective bids are potentially compatible.

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(32)

The existing knowledge and mapping of the Union’s raw materials occurrences weredeveloped at a time when ensuring the supply of critical raw materials for the developmentof strategic technologies was not a priority. A lack of up-to-date geological information on
critical raw materials in the Union can undermine the development of extraction projects,
thereby weakening efforts to decrease supply risk and safeguard the functioning of theinternal market. To acquire and update information on the critical raw material occurrences,
Member States should, where relevant given the geological conditions, draw up national
mapping programmes for the general exploration of critical raw materials and the mainminerals that they are extracted together with. This should include measures such as
geological mapping, geochemical campaigns, geoscientific surveys as well as the
reprocessing of existing geoscientific datasets. This increases the probability of locating
new deposits which in turn should stimulate investments in exploration. The exploration
programmes should also consider making use of novel exploration techniques thatallowing to identify occurrences at greater depth than conventional techniques. To
facilitate the development of extraction projects, Member States should make publicly
available certain basic information acquired during their respective national exploration
programme, where appropriate using the framework of the Infrastructure for Spatial
Information established by Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and theCouncil34, while providing more detailed information upon request. The Commission may
issue guidelines to promote a harmonised format of the exploration programmes.

34

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007
establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community(INSPIRE) (OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1-14).

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(33)

Space data and services derived from earth observation can support the efforts towards
sustainable critical raw materials value chains by providing a continuous flow of
information, which could be useful for activities such as monitoring and management ofmining areas, the environmental and socio-economic impact assessment, or mineral resource
exploration. As earth observation is also able to provide data about remote and inaccessible
areas, it should be considered by Member States when drawing up and implementing theirnational exploration programmes to the extent possible.

(34)

Although the reinforcement of the Union’s critical raw materials value chain is necessary toensure increased security of supply, the supply chains of critical raw materials will remain
global and exposed to external factors. Recent or ongoing events ranging from the COVID19 crisis to the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine underlined
the vulnerability of some of the Union’s supply chains to disruptions. In order to ensure that
Member States and European industries are able to anticipate supply disruption and preparedto withstand their consequences, measures should be developed to strengthen monitoring
capacity, coordinate strategic stocks and reinforce the preparedness of companies.

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(35)

Member States do not have the same capacity when it comes to risk-awareness andanticipation, and not all Member States have developed dedicated structures that monitor the
supply chains of critical raw materials and can inform companies about potential risks ofsupply disruptions. Similarly, although some companies have invested in the monitoring of
their supply chains, others lack the capacity to do so. Therefore, in light of the global
dimension of critical raw materials supply chains as well as their complexity, theCommission should develop a dedicated monitoring dashboard assessing critical raw
materials’ supply risks and ensure the availability of the information gathered for publicauthorities and private actors, thereby increasing synergies amongst Member States. In orderto ensure that Union value chains are sufficiently prepared against potential supply
disruptions likely to distort competition and fragment the internal market, such as thosecaused by geopolitical conflicts, the Commission should conduct stress tests assessing thevulnerability of the strategic raw materials supply chains and their exposure to supply risks.
Member States should contribute to this exercise by, when possible, conducting such stresstests through their national supply and information agencies covering critical raw materials.
The Board should ensure the coordination of the implementation of the stress tests by theCommission and Member States. When no Member State has the capacity to perform arequired stress test on a given strategic raw material, the Commission should conduct ititself. ▌ The Commission should also suggest potential strategies that can be adopted by the
public authorities and private actors to mitigate supply risks, such as building strategic
stocks or further diversifying their supply. For the purpose of gathering the informationnecessary to conduct the monitoring and stress tests measures, the Commission should
coordinate with the relevant standing subgroup of the Board and Member States should
identify and monitor key market operators.

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(36)

Strategic stocks are an important tool to mitigate supply disruptions, notably for raw
materials. Although the proposed Single Market Emergency Instrument allows for the
possible development of such stocks in the event of the activation of the Single Market
vigilance mode, Member States and companies do not have obligations to build up ▌ theirstrategic stocks ahead of a supply disruption. In addition, there is no coordination
mechanism across the European Union that allows for the development of a common
assessment and of an analysis of potential overlaps and synergies. Therefore, as a first step,and taking account of the present lack of relevant information, Member States should
provide to the Commission information on potential strategic stocks, and if any, whether
they are operated by public authorities or by economic operators on the behalf of theMember States. Such information should include the level of stock available per strategic
raw material on an aggregated level, the outlook of stock levels, and the rules andprocedures applicable to these stocks. Any request should be proportionate, have regard forthe cost and effort required to make the data available as well as for its impact on national
security, and set out appropriate time limits for providing the requested information.
Information on the stocks of economic operators may be added to the analysis, albeit thisdoes not constitute a request for information on them. The Commission should handle thedata in a secure manner, and only publish information on an aggregate level. As a second
step, based on the information acquired, the Commission should develop a draft benchmark
for what should be considered a safe level of Union stocks, taking into account the total
annual Union consumption of the concerned strategic raw materials. Based on a comparison
between existing stocks and the overall levels of strategic stocks for strategic raw materials
across the Union, the Board, acting in agreement with the Commission, should then be able
to issue non-binding opinions to Member States on how to increase convergences, and toencourage them in building up their strategic stocks. In doing so, the Board should consider
the need to maintain incentives for the development of strategic stocks by private or public
operators using strategic raw materials.

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(37)

So as to foster further coordination, The Commission should ensure necessary consultationahead of Member States’ participation in international fora where such strategic stocks may
be discussed, notably via the dedicated standing sub-group of the Board. Similarly, in order
to increase complementarity between the present proposal and other horizontal or subjectspecific instruments, the Commission should ensure that the gathered and aggregatedinformation are passed to vigilance or crisis governance mechanisms, such as the proposed
Single Market Emergency Instrument's advisory group, the proposed Chips Act's European
Semiconductor Board, the HERA Board or the Health Crisis Board.

(38)

In order to ensure that they are sufficiently prepared to face supply disruptions, large
companies manufacturing strategic technologies in the Union using strategic raw materials
should perform a risk assessment of their supply chains. This will ensure that they take into
account the supply risks of strategic raw materials and, where necessary, develop
appropriate mitigation strategies to be better prepared in the event of a supply disruption.
Such large companies should, as part of that risk assessment, map the origins of theirstrategic raw materials, analyse the factors that might affect their supply and assess theirvulnerabilities to supply disruptions. In the event of vulnerabilities being detected, theidentified large companies should take efforts to mitigate them. This assessment should bebased on data acquired by companies from their suppliers and, if such data is unavailable,
on data that is publicly available or is published by the Commission, to the extent possible.
Member States should have the possibility to require that a report on the risk assessment
conducted is transmitted to the companies’ board of directors. To take into account theneed to protect trade and business secrets and to limit the exposure of companies’
vulnerabilities, this report should not be public. These measures should lead to additional
consideration being given to the costs of potential supply disruptions, without prescribing
defined mitigation strategies.

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(39)

Many markets for strategic raw materials are not fully transparent and are concentrated on
the supply side, which increases the negotiating power of sellers and increases prices forbuyers. To help lower prices for undertaking established in the Union, the Commission
should set up a system that is able to aggregate the demand of interested buyers. In order toavoid a disproportionate impact on competition in the internal market, the Commission, in
consultation with the European Critical Raw Materials Board, should carry out anassessment on the impact of the system on the market for each strategic raw material
added to the system. In developing such a system, the Commission should take into accountexperience gained in similar endeavors, in particular regarding the joint purchasing of gas asestablished under Council Regulation 2022/257635. All measures under this mechanism
should be compatible with Union competition law.

(40)

The provisions on monitoring and strategic stocks included in this Regulation do not entail
the harmonisation of national laws and regulations and do not replace existing mechanisms.
Monitoring and risk preparedness incentives should be in line with European instruments.
Therefore, instruments such as the Single Market Emergency Instrument proposal aiming toanticipate, mitigate and respond to crisis affecting the functioning of the Single Market or
the Council Regulation (EU) 2022/237236 on a framework of measures for ensuring the
supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures in the event of a public health emergency
at Union level, could still apply to critical and strategic raw materials in the event of a crisis
or a threat to the extent that those materials fall within the scope of such instruments.
Complementarity and coherence between this Regulation and crisis instruments should beensured by the Commission through exchange of information between the respective
advisory and governance bodies established by these crisis instruments.

35

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2576 of 19 December 2022 enhancing solidarity throughbetter coordination of gas purchases, reliable price benchmarks and exchanges of gas
across borders (OJ 335, 29.12.2022, p. 1-35).
Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2372 of 24 October 2022 on a framework of measures for
ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures in the event of a publichealth emergency at Union level (OJ 314, 6.12.2022, p.64-78).

36

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(41)

Most critical raw materials are metals, which can be in principle endlessly recycled, albeit
with sometimes deteriorating qualities. This offers the potential to move to a truly circular
economy in the context of the green transition while increasing the availability of criticalraw materials and thereby contributing to ensure security of supply. After an initial phaseof rapid growth of demand for critical raw material for new technologies, where primary
extraction and processing will still constitute the predominant source, , recycling should ▌increasingly ▌ reduce the need for primary extraction and its associated impacts. Thisshould be done while maintaining a high level of recycling capacity in the Union via astrong market for secondary critical raw materials. Today, however, recycling rates ofmost critical raw materials are low, with waste streams such as batteries, electrical andelectronic equipment and vehicles being shipped outside of the Union for recycling.
Recycling systems and technologies are often not adapted to the specificities of these raw
materials. Innovation plays an important role in reducing the need for critical raw
materials, reducing the risks of shortage of supply and for the development of recycling
technologies to properly and safely extract materials from waste . Prompt action
addressing the different factors holding back the circularity potential is thus required.

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(42)

Member States retain important competences in the field of circularity, for example in thearea of waste collection and treatment systems. These should be used to increase collection
and recycling rates for waste streams with a high potential for recovery of critical raw
materials, including electronic waste, making use for example of financial incentives suchas discounts, monetary rewards or deposit-refund systems while preserving the integrity of
the internal market. With a view to increasing the use of secondary critical raw materials,
this could also include differentiated producer responsibility fees, provided such fees exist
in national law, to benefit products containing a larger share of secondary critical raw
materials recovered from waste recycled in line with environmental standards establishedin Union law. Such secondary critical raw materials recovered from waste should include
recovery carried out according to third countries standards that offer an equivalent
protection to Union standards. Member State authorities should also make a difference asbuyers of critical raw materials and of products containing them, and national research andinnovation programmes provide significant resources to increase the state of knowledge andtechnology for critical raw materials circularity as well as material efficiency. Finally,
Member States should promote the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste
by improving the availability of information and by addressing legal, economic andtechnical barriers. One possible solution that Member States should look into are risksharing mechanisms between operators and the Member State to promote recovery fromclosed waste facilities. The Board should also facilitate the exchange of best practices
between Member States, on the design and implementation of their national programmes.

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(43)

The Union has, in many of its regions, a legacy of raw materials extraction and thus
substantial amounts of extractive waste on closed facilities which, due to their only recent
rise in economic importance, have generally not been analysed for critical raw materials
potential. The recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste facilities has thepotential to increase Union capacity while creating economic value and employment inhistorical mining regions, which are often affected by deindustrialisation and decline. The
lack of attention to, and information on critical raw materials content, especially on closed
waste facilities, constitutes a key barrier to greater use of the critical raw materials potential
of extractive waste.

(44)

The recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste facilities should be part of thevalorisation of relevant waste facilities. Directive 2006/21/EC sets out high requirements ofenvironmental and human health protection for the waste management of the extractive
industry. While these high requirements should be maintained, it is appropriate to establish
additional measures to maximise the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive
waste.

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(45)

Operators of extractive waste facilities, both existing and new, should perform a preliminary
economic assessment study regarding the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive
waste present on the site and from such waste being generated. In line with the wastehierarchy established in Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil37, priority should be given to preventing the generation of waste containing criticalraw materials, by extracting critical raw materials from the extracted volume prior to it
becoming waste. In elaborating this study, operators should gather the necessary
information, including concentrations and quantities of critical raw materials in theextractive waste, and perform an assessment of multiple options regarding processes,
operations or business arrangements that could enable an economically viable recovery ofcritical raw materials. This obligation comes in addition to obligations laid down in
Directive 2006/21/EC and the national laws transposing it and is directly applicable. In its
implementation, operators and competent authorities should seek to minimise administrative
burden and integrate procedures to the extent possible.

37

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008
on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3-30).

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(46)

To address the current lack of information on the critical raw materials potential of closed
extractive waste facilities, Member States should draw up a database containing all
information relevant to promote the recovery, notably the quantities and concentrations ofcritical raw materials in the extractive waste facility, in compliance with Union competition
rules. The information should be made publicly available and in a user-friendly and digitalform, enabling access to more detailed, technical information. To facilitate user-friendly
access to the information, Member States should for instance provide a point of contact toenable more in-depth exchanges with potential developers of critical raw materials recovery
projects. The database should be designed to allow potential project promoters to easily
identify facilities with a high potential for economically viable recovery. To focus limited
resources, Member States should follow a staged approach in the collection of informationand perform the more demanding information collection steps only for the most promisingfacilities. The information collection activities should be aimed at providing accurate andrepresentative information on the extractive waste facilities and gaining the best possible
indication of the critical raw materials recovery potential.

(47)

Permanent magnets are incorporated in a wide variety of products, with wind turbines andelectric vehicles being the most important and fastest-growing applications but also otherproducts, including magnetic resonance imaging devices, industrial robots, light means oftransport, cooling generators, heat pumps, electric motors, industrial electric pumps,
automatic washing machines, tumble driers, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers
containing significant amounts worth recovering. In the case of electric motors, they should
also be covered when included in other products. Most permanent magnets, especially themost performant types, contain critical raw materials, such as neodymium, praseodymium,dysprosium and terbium, boron, samarium, nickel or cobalt. Their recycling is possible but
today only performed in the Union at a small scale or in the context of research projects.
Permanent magnets should therefore be a priority product for increasing circularity, thereby
fostering a secondary market for permanent magnets and ensuring security of supply ofcritical raw materials.

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(48)

A precondition for effective magnet recycling is for recyclers to have access to the necessary
information on the amount, type and chemical composition of magnets in a product, theirlocation and the coating, glues and additives used, as well as information on how to safely
remove the permanent magnets from the product. In addition, to ensure a business case formagnet recycling, permanent magnets incorporated in products placed on the Union market
should, over time, contain an increasing amount of recycled materials. While providing
transparency on the recycled content in a first stage, a minimum recycled content should be
set after a dedicated assessment of the appropriate level and likely impacts.

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(49)

Critical raw materials sold on the Union market are often certified regarding thesustainability of their production and supply chain. Certification can be obtained in thecontext of a broad range of public and private certification schemes available with varying
scopes and stringency, creating the potential for confusion regarding the nature and veracityof claims made about the relative sustainability of critical raw materials placed on the Union
market based on such certification. The Commission should be empowered to adopt
implementing acts recognising certification schemes that should be considered ▌trustworthy, providing a common basis for authorities and market participants for assessing
the sustainability of critical raw materials. Recognition should be given only to certification
schemes which contain provisions for independent third-party verification and monitoringof compliance. As regards environmental protection, certifications schemes should coverrisks related to, for example, air, water, soil, biodiversity, and waste management. The
requirements on all sustainability dimensions should ensure a high level of social andenvironmental protection and be in line with Union legislation or the international
instruments listed in Annex III. To ensure efficient procedures, promoters of projects
applying to be recognised as Strategic Projects should be allowed to rely on participation ina recognised scheme as relevant evidence to show that their project is implemented
sustainably, thereby contributing to a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
When making use of that option, the schemes referred to should cover all sustainability
dimensions. In recognising such certification schemes, the Commission should take into
account experience gained in assessing certification schemes in the context of other
Union legislation, in particular regarding the assessment of similar schemes in thecontext of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 and [OP please insert reference to Battery
Regulation].

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(50)

The production of critical raw materials at different stages of the value chain causes
environmental impacts, whether on climate, water, soil, fauna or flora. In order to limit suchdamage and incentivise the production of more sustainable critical raw materials, theCommission should be empowered to develop a system for the calculation of theenvironmental footprint of critical raw materials, including a verification process, to ensurethat critical raw materials placed on the Union market publicly display information on suchfootprint and facilitating circularity of critical raw materials. The system should be basedon taking into account scientifically sound assessment methods and relevant international
standards in the area of life cycle assessment. The requirement to declare the environmental
footprint of a material should only apply where it has been concluded, based on a dedicatedassessment, that it would contribute to the Union’s climate and environmental objectives byfacilitating the procurement of critical raw materials with lower environmental footprint andwould not disproportionately affect trade flows and economic costs. When the relevant
calculation methods have been adopted, the Commission should develop performanceclasses for critical raw materials, thereby allowing potential buyers to easily compare therelative environmental footprint of available materials and driving the market towards moresustainable materials. Sellers of critical raw materials should ensure that the environmental
footprint declaration is available to their customers. Transparency on the relative footprint ofcritical raw materials placed on the Union market may also enable other policies at Unionand national level, such as incentives or green public procurement criteria, fostering the
production of critical raw materials with lower environmental impacts.

(51)

The Environmental Footprint methods constitute a relevant basis for the development of thecalculation rules. They rely on scientifically sound assessment methods which take into
account developments on international level and cover environmental impacts, including
climate change and impacts related to water, air, soil, resources, land use and toxicity.

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(52)

It should be ensured that ▌ the conformity of ▌ products or materials with requirements toimprove the circularity of permanent magnets and on the declaration of the environmental
footprint of critical raw materials is assessed by the responsible manufacturer before they
are placed on the market and that those requirements are effectively enforced by competent
national authorities. The conformity and market surveillance provisions established under
Regulation 2019/1020 and ▌ [Ecodesign Directive], are designed to address this challenge
and should therefore apply also to those requirements. The Commission should therefore be
empowered to adopt delegated acts to supplement this Regulation to ensure that those
provisions apply where relevant in the context of this Regulation. To further ensure that
optimal use is made of existing frameworks, it should be ensured that for products that are
subject to type approval under Regulation 2018/858 or Regulation 168/2013, compliance isenforced through the existing type approval system.

(53)

The Commission should, as provided in Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012,
request one or more European standardisation organisations to draft European standards insupport of the objectives of this Regulation.

(54)

The Union has concluded Strategic Partnerships covering raw materials with third countries
in order to implement the 2020 Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials. In order to diversify
supply, these efforts should continue. To develop and ensure a coherent framework for theconclusion of future partnerships, the Member States and the Commission should, as part oftheir interaction on the Board, discuss ▌ , inter alia, whether existing partnerships achieve
the intended aims, the prioritisation of third countries for new partnerships, the content ofsuch partnerships and their coherence and potential synergies between Member States'
bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries. This should be done without prejudice tothe prerogatives of the Council in accordance with the Treaties. The Union should seek
mutually beneficial partnerships with emerging market and developing economies, in
coherence with its Global Gateway strategy, which contribute to the diversification of its
raw materials supply chain as well as add value in the production in these countries.

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(54a) Strategic Projects in third countries, particularly where no Strategic Partnership exists,
can be particularly risky for investors and often highly dependent on political support in
the target country. This issue can be alleviated by increased risk-sharing between
interested companies, acting in the strategic interest of the Union. Therefore, supportshould also be provided to enable businesses, including where they act as consortia,
without prejudice to the application of Article 101 of the Treaty, to access markets in third
countries that are not covered by a Strategic Partnership or a free trade agreement. Suchsupport can include providing a support network to help them with establishing contact in
the relevant third country and gathering information on local and regional
circumstances.
(55)

In order to support the implementation of tasks pertaining to the development of Strategic
Projects and their financing, exploration programmes, monitoring capacities or strategic
stocks and to advise the Commission appropriately, a European Critical Raw Materials
Board should be established. The Board should be composed of Member States and of theCommission, while being able to ensure participation of other parties as observers, notably
the European Parliament. . To develop the necessary expertise for the implementation ofcertain tasks, the Board should establish standing sub-groups on financing, public
acceptance, exploration, monitoring and, strategic stocks as well as one on circularity,
resource efficiency and substitution, that should act as a network by gathering the different
relevant national authorities and, when necessary, consult industry, academia, civil society
and other relevant stakeholders. The Board’s advice and opinions should be non-binding andthe absence of such an advice or opinion should not prevent the Commission fromperforming its tasks under this Regulation.

(56)

The absence of progress towards the objectives, including the capacity and diversification
benchmarks, may indicate the need for adopting additional measures. The Commission
should therefore monitor the progress towards those objectives.

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(57)

To keep administrative burden put on Member States to a minimum, the different reporting
obligations should be streamlined, and the Commission should develop a template allowing
Member States to fulfil their reporting obligations on projects, exploration, monitoring or
strategic stocks within a regularly published single document, that may be confidential or
restricted.

(58)

In order to ensure trustful and constructive cooperation of competent authorities at Unionand national levels, all parties involved in the application of this Regulation should respect
the confidentiality of information and data obtained in carrying out their tasks. The
Commission and the national competent authorities, their officials, civil servants and otherpersons working under the supervision of these authorities as well as officials and civil
servants of other authorities of the Member States should not disclose information acquiredor exchanged by them pursuant to this Regulation and of the kind covered by the obligationof professional secrecy. This should also apply to the European Critical Raw Materials
Board. The data should be handled and stored in a secure environment.

(59)

When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, it is of particular importancethat the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work,
including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with theprinciples laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better LawMaking38. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, theEuropean Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member
States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission
expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

38

OJ L123, 12.5. 2016, p. 1.

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(60)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation,
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards: (a) specifying thetemplates to be used for applications for recognition of Strategic Projects, progress reports
related to Strategic Projects, the national exploration programmes, and the reporting ofMember States pertaining to exploration, monitoring, strategic stocks and circularity; (b)specifying which products, components and waste streams shall be considered to have ahigh critical raw materials recovery potential; and (c) determining the criteria and theirapplication for the recognition of schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw
materials. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council39.

(61)

To ensure that the obligations imposed under this Regulation are complied with, ▌companies that do not comply with their obligation, including on risk preparedness, project
reporting and recyclability information, should be subject to penalties. It is therefore
necessary that Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties innational law for failure to comply with this Regulation. It is also necessary for Member
States to ensure that projects promoters have access to, where relevant, administrative or
judicial review in accordance with national law.

39

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms forcontrol by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55,
28.2.2011, p. 13-18).

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(62)

The Commission should carry out an evaluation of this Regulation. Pursuant to paragraph 22of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that evaluation should be basedon the five criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added
and should provide the basis for impact assessments of possible further measures. The
Commission should submit to the European Parliament, to the Council and the European
Economic and Social Committee, a report on the implementation of this Regulation andprogress towards achieving its objectives, including the capacity and diversification
benchmarks. The report should also, based on the implementation of the measures related
the transparency of the environmental footprint of critical raw materials, assess theappropriateness of establishing maximum thresholds related to the environmental footprint.
The Commission should also evaluate the need for benchmarks targeting 2040 and 2050
and for individual strategic raw materials, the consistency between the Union
environmental legislation and this regulation, in particular in relation to the priority
status of the strategic projects, the impact of the Joint purchasing system set up pursuant
to Article 24 on competition in the internal market and the appropriateness of establishingfurther measures to increase the collection, sorting and processing of waste, in particularwith a view to metal scraps.

(63)

To the extent that any of the measures envisaged by the present Regulation constitute Stateaid, the provisions concerning such measures are without prejudice to the application of
Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty.

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(64)

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to improve the functioning of internalmarket establishing a framework to ensure the Union's access to a secure and sustainablesupply of critical raw materials, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but
can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, only be achieved at Union level, the Union may
adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of theTreaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set
out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achievethat objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Chapter 1
General provisions
Article 1
Subject matter and objectives
1.

The general objective of this Regulation is to improve the functioning of the internalmarket by establishing a framework to ensure the Union's access to a secure, resilient andsustainable supply of critical raw materials, including by fostering efficiency andcircularity throughout the value chain.

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2.

To achieve the general objective referred to in paragraph 1, this Regulation lays down
measures aimed at:(a)lowering the risk of supply disruptions related to critical raw materials likely to
distort competition and fragment the internal market, in particular by identifying
and supporting strategic projects that contribute to lowering dependencies anddiversifying imports and by undertaking efforts to incentivise technologicalprogress and resource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase inUnion consumption of critical raw materials;
▌
▌
▌

▌
(c)

improving the Union's ability to monitor and mitigate the supply risk related to
critical raw materials;(d)ensuring the free movement of critical raw materials and products containing criticalraw materials placed on the Union market while ensuring a high level ofenvironmental protection and sustainability, including by improving their circularity▌.

▌▌

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ENArticle 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:(1)‘raw material’ means a substance in processed or unprocessed state used as an input for the
manufacturing of intermediate or final products, excluding substances predominantly used
as food, feed or combustion fuel;(2)‘critical raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 4;(3)‘strategic raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 3;(4)‘raw materials value chain’ means all activities and processes involved in the exploration,
extraction, processing and recycling of raw materials;(5)‘exploration’ means all activities aimed at identifying and establishing the properties ofmineral occurrences;(6)‘extraction’ means the ▌ extraction of ores, minerals and plant products from their original
source as a main product or as a by-product, including from a mineral occurrence
underground, mineral occurrence under and from water, sea brine and trees;(7)‘Union extraction capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production
volumes of extractive operations for ores, minerals, plant products and concentrates
containing strategic raw materials, including processing operations that are typicallylocated at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;(7a)‘mineral occurrences’ means any single mineral or combination of minerals occurringin a mass or deposit of potential economic interest;(8)‘reserves’ means all mineral occurrences that are economically viable to extract at a given
market context;

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(9)

‘processing’ means all physical, chemical and biological processes involved in thetransformation of a raw material from ores, minerals, plant products or waste into puremetals, alloys or other economically usable forms, including but not limited tobeneficiation, separation, smelting and refining, and excluding metal working andfurther transformation into intermediate and final goods;(10)‘Union processing capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production
volumes of processing operations for strategic raw materials, excluding such operations
that are typically located at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;(11)‘recycling’ means recycling within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(12)‘Union recycling capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production volumeof recycling operations for strategic raw materials after re-processing, including thesorting and pre-treatment of waste, and its processing into secondary raw materials, locatedin the Union;(13)‘annual consumption of strategic raw materials’ means an aggregate of the amount ofstrategic raw materials consumed by undertakings established in the Union in processed
form, excluding strategic raw materials incorporated in intermediate or final products
placed on the Union market;(14)‘supply risk’ means supply risk as calculated in line with Annex II;

(15)

▌

(15a)

‘critical raw material project’ means any planned facility or planned significant
extension or repurposing of an existing facility active in extraction, processing or
recycling of the critical raw materials as defined in Article 4;(16)‘off-taker’ means an undertaking that has entered into an off-take agreement with a project
promoter;

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(17)

‘off-take agreement’ means any contractual agreement between an undertaking and a
project promoter containing either a commitment on part of the undertaking to procure ashare of the raw materials produced by a specific raw material project over a certain periodof time or a commitment on part of the project promoter to provide the undertaking withthe option to do so;(18)‘project promoter’ means any undertaking or consortium of undertakings developing a raw
material project;(19)‘permit granting process’ means a process covering all relevant ▌ permits to ▌ build andoperate the critical raw material projects, including building, chemical and gridconnection permits and environmental assessments and authorisations where these are
required, and encompassing all ▌ applications and procedures from the acknowledgmentthat the application is complete to the notification of the comprehensive decision on theoutcome of the procedure by the responsible Point of single contact referred to in Article
8(1);

(20)

‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken by Member Stateauthorities ▌ that determines whether or not a project promoter is authorised to implementa raw material project, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an ▌appeal procedure;(20a)‘national programme‘ means a national programme or a compiled set of programmes,
covering the entire territory, prepared and adopted by national and regional authorities;(21)‘general exploration’ means exploration at national or regional level, not including targeted
exploration;(22)‘targeted exploration’ means the detailed investigation of an individual mineral occurrence;

(23)

▌

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(24)

‘predictive map’ means a map indicating areas that are likely to contain mineraloccurrences of a given raw material;(25)‘supply disruption’ means the unexpected significant decrease in the availability of a raw
material or significant increase in the price of a raw material beyond normal market pricevolatility;(26)‘raw materials supply chain’ means all activities and processes of the raw materials value
chain up to the point where a raw material is used as an input for the manufacturing ofintermediate or final products;(27)‘mitigation strategies’ means the policies developed by an economic operator to limit thelikelihood of a supply disruption to its supply chain or to mitigate the damages caused bysuch a disruption to its economic activity;(28)‘key market operators’ means undertakings in the Union’s critical raw materials supply
chain and downstream companies consuming critical raw materials, the reliable
functioning of which is essential for the supply of critical raw materials;(29)‘strategic stock’ means a quantity of a particular raw material in whichever form that isstored by a public or private operator with a view to releasing it in the event of a supply
disruption;(30)‘large company’ means any company that had more than 500 employees on average andhad a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 150 million in the last financial year forwhich annual financial statements have been prepared;(31)‘strategic technologies’ means the key technologies instrumental for the green and digitaltransitions as well as for defence and aerospace applications;

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(32)

‘board of directors’ means the administrative or supervisory body responsible forsupervising the executive management of the company, or, if no such body exists, theperson or persons performing equivalent functions;(32a)‘waste’ means waste within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(33)‘collection’ means collection within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(34)‘treatment’ means treatment within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(35)‘recovery’ means recovery within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(35a)‘re-use’ means re-use within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC;(36)‘extractive waste’ means extractive waste within the meaning of Directive 2006/21/EC;(37)‘extractive waste facility’ means waste facility within the meaning of Directive
2006/21/EC;(38)‘preliminary economic assessment’ means an early-stage, conceptual assessment of thepotential economic viability of a raw material project for the recovery of critical raw
materials from extractive waste;(39)‘magnetic resonance imaging device’ means a non-invasive medical device that uses
magnetic fields to make anatomical images or any other device that uses magnetic fields tomake images of the inside of object;(40)‘wind energy generator’ means the part of an onshore or offshore wind turbine thatconverts the mechanical energy of the rotor into electrical energy;

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(41)

‘industrial robot’ means an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose
manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can either be fixed or mobile foruse in industrial automation applications;(42)‘motor vehicle’ means any type-approved vehicle of the M or N categories in the meaningof Regulation (EU) 2018/858;(43)‘light means of transport’ means any light wheeled vehicle that can be powered by theelectric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power, including electricscooters, electric bicycles and type-approved vehicles of category L in the meaning ofRegulation (EU) No 168/2013;(44)‘cooling generator’ means the part of a cooling system that generates a temperature
difference allowing heat extraction from the space or process to be cooled, using anelectric vapour compression cycle;(45)‘heat pump’ means the part of a heating system that generates a temperature difference
allowing heat supply to the space or process to be heated, using an electric vapour
compression cycle;(46)‘electric motor’ means a device that converts electrical input power into mechanical output
power in the form of a rotation with a rotational speed and torque that depends on
factors including the frequency of the supply voltage and number of poles of the motor,
and with a rated output equal to or above 0.12 kW;(47)‘automatic washing machine’ means a washing machine where the load is fully treated by
the washing machine without the need for user intervention at any point during the
programme;(48)‘tumble drier’ means an appliance in which textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating
drum through which heated air is passed;

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(49)

‘microwave’ means any appliance intended to be used for the heating of food using
electromagnetic energy;(50)‘vacuum cleaner’ means an appliance that removes soil from a surface to be cleaned bymeans of an airflow created by underpressure developed within the unit;(51)‘dishwasher’ means a machine which cleans and rinses tableware;(52)‘permanent magnet’ means a magnet that retains its magnetism after being removed froman external magnetic field;(53)‘data carrier’ means a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or otherautomatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device;(54)‘unique product identifier’ means a unique string of characters for the identification of
products;(55)‘magnet coating’ means a layer of material generally used to protect magnets fromcorrosion;(56)‘removal’ means manual, mechanical, chemical, thermal or metallurgic handling with theresult that the targeted components or materials are identifiable as a separate output stream
or part of an output stream;(57)‘recycler’ means any natural or legal person who carries out recycling in a permitted
facility;(58)‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution,
consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in
return for payment or free of charge;

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(59)

‘critical raw material type’ means a critical raw material placed on the market that isdifferentiated by its stage of processing, its chemical composition, its geographical origin
or the production methods used;(60)‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market;(61)‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether the requirements set out
Article 27, 28 or 34 have been fulfilled;(62)‘Strategic Partnership’ means a commitment between the Union and a third country, orOverseas Countries and Territories (OCT) to increase cooperation related to the raw
materials value chain that is established through a non-binding instrument setting out
concrete actions of mutual interest, which facilitate beneficial outcomes for both partners.

(62a)‘multi-stakeholder governance’ means a formal, meaningful, and substantive role ofmultiple types of stakeholders, including at least civil society, in the decision-making of
the scheme, documented by way of a mandate, terms of reference or other evidence,
which confirms or supports the involvement of the multi-stakeholder representatives ofthe scheme.

Chapter 2
Critical and strategic raw materials
Article 3
List of strategic raw materials
1.

The raw materials listed in Annex I, Section 1 shall, including in unprocessed form, at
any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction,
processing or recycling processes, be considered strategic raw materials.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex I, Section 1 in order to update the list of strategic raw materials.
An updated list of strategic raw materials shall include, from among the raw materials
assessed, the raw materials that score among the highest in terms of strategic importance,
forecasted demand growth and difficulty of increasing production. The strategic
importance, projected demand growth and difficulty of increasing production shall be
determined in accordance with Annex I, Section 2.

3.

The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of strategic raw materials
by [OP please insert: three years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], andevery three years thereafter. Upon request by the Board on the basis of monitoring andstress testing in accordance with this Regulation, the Commission shall review and,
where appropriate, update the list at any time in addition to the regular reviews.

3a.

As part of the first update of the list pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall inparticular assess whether, based on its assessment in accordance with Annex I, Section 2
and paragraph 2, synthetic graphite should remain in the list of strategic raw materials.
Article 4
List of critical raw materials

1.

The raw materials listed in Annex II, Section 1, shall, including in unprocessed form, at
any stage of processing and when occurring as a by-product of other extraction,
processing or recycling processes, be considered critical raw materials.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex II, Section 1 in order to update the list of critical raw materials.
An updated list of critical raw materials shall include the strategic raw materials listed in
Annex I, Section 1 as well as any other raw material that reaches or exceeds the thresholds
for both economic importance and supply risk referred to in paragraph 3. Economic
importance and supply risk shall be calculated in accordance with Annex II, Section 2.

3.

The thresholds shall be 1 for supply risk and 2.8 for economic importance.

4.

The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update, in accordance with paragraph 2,
the list of critical raw materials by [OP please insert: three years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation], and at least every 3 years thereafter.

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ENChapter 3
Strengthening the Union raw materials value chain
SECTION 1
STRATEGIC PROJECTS

Article 4a
Benchmarks
1.

The Commission and Member States shall strengthen the different stages of the value
chain of strategic raw materials through the measures within this Chapter in order to:(a)ensure that, by 2030, Union capacities for each strategic raw material havesignificantly increased so that, overall, Union capacity approaches or reaches thefollowing benchmarks:(i)Union extraction capacity is able to extract the ores, minerals or concentrates
needed to produce at least 10% of the Union's annual consumption ofstrategic raw materials, to the extent that the Union’s reserves allow for this;(ii)

Union processing capacity, including for all intermediate processing steps, isable to produce at least 40% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic
raw materials;(iii) Union recycling capacity, including for all intermediate recycling steps, isable to produce at least 25% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic
raw materials and is able to recycle significantly increasing amounts of eachstrategic raw material in waste.

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(b)

diversify the Union's imports of strategic raw materials with a view to ensure that,by 2030, the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any
relevant stage of processing can rely on imports from several third countries, noneof which provide more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption.

2.

The Commission and Member States shall undertake efforts to incentivise technologicalprogress and resource efficiency in order to moderate the expected increase in Union
consumption of critical raw materials below the reference projection referred to in
Article 42(-1) through the relevant measures set out in this Section and Section 1 ofChapter V.

3

By 1 January 2027, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with
Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by providing for Union recycling capacity
benchmarks expressed as a share of the strategic raw materials available in relevant
waste streams.
For this purpose, the delegated shall specify the waste streams and the strategic raw
materials within them for which sufficient information on the relevant waste volumes
and their strategic raw material content is available based on the reporting requirementsof Directive 2000/53 (End-of-Life Vehicles Directive), Directive 2008/98/EC (Waste
Framework Directive), Directive 2012/19/EU (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Directive) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Batteries Regulation) to allow
for estimating the Union’s recycling capacity as a share of the strategic raw materials
contained in the relevant waste streams.
In addition, the delegated act shall set a Union recycling capacity benchmark based on
the recycling capacity for each strategic raw material in the relevant waste streams
identified pursuant to subparagraph 2.

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The Commission shall define the level of the recycling capacity referred to in
subparagraph 3 based on the following elements:(a)current Union recycling capacity expressed as a share of the strategic raw
materials available in relevant waste streams;(b)

the extent to which strategic raw materials can be recovered from those waste
streams, taking into account technological and economic feasibility;(c)other targets set in other Union legislation relevant to the recovery of strategic raw
materials from waste.

The Commission is empowered to update the delegated act if as a result of theassessment referred to in Article 46(1a), information becomes available on the relevant
waste volumes and strategic raw material content of further waste streams.
Article 5
Criteria for recognition of Strategic Projects
1.

Following an application of the project promoter and in accordance with the procedure
established in Article 6, the Commission shall recognise as Strategic Projects raw material
projects that meet the following criteria:(a)the project would make a meaningful contribution to the security of the Union's
supply of strategic raw materials;(b)

the project is or will become technically feasible within a reasonable timeframe andthe expected production volume of the project can be estimated with a sufficientlevel of confidence;

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2.

(c)

the project would be implemented sustainably, in particular as regards themonitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the prevention
and minimisation of socially adverse impacts through the use of socially
responsible practices including respect of human, indigenous peoples’ and labour
rights, in particular in case of involuntary resettlement, quality jobs potential andmeaningful engagement with local communities and relevant social partners, and theuse of transparent business practices with adequate compliance policies to preventand minimise risks of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public
administration, including corruption and bribery;(d)for projects in the Union, the establishment, operation or production of the project
would have cross-border benefits beyond the Member State concerned, including fordownstream sectors;(e)for projects in third countries that are emerging markets or developing economies,
the project would be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country
concerned by adding value in that country.

The fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 shall be assessed by theCommission in accordance with the elements and evidence set out in Annex III.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 toamend Annex III in order to adapt the elements and evidence to be taken into accountwhen assessing the fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 to technicaland scientific progress or to take into account changes to the Union legislation orinternational instruments listed in Annex III, point 4, or the adoption of additional Union
legislation or international instruments relevant for the fulfilment of the criterion referred
to in paragraph 1, point (c).

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3.

The recognition of a project as a Strategic Project shall not affect the requirements
applicable to the relevant project or project promoter under international, Union or nationallaw.
Article 6
Application and recognition

1.

Applications for recognition of a raw material project as a Strategic Project shall be
submitted by the project promoter to the Commission. The application shall include:(a)relevant evidence related to fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Article 5(1);(b)

a classification of the project according to the United Nations Framework
Classification for Resources, supported by appropriate evidence;(c)a timetable for the implementation of the project, including an overview of thepermits required for the project and the status of the corresponding permit granting
process;(d)a plan containing measures to facilitate public acceptance including, whereappropriate, measures to facilitate the meaningful involvement and active
participation of affected communities, the establishment of recurrent
communication channels with ▌ local communities, organisations, including social
partners, and authorities, and the implementation of awareness-raising andinformation campaigns and potential mitigation and compensation mechanisms;

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(da) for projects with the potential to affect indigenous peoples, a plan containing
measures dedicated to the meaningful consultation of the affected indigenous
peoples about the prevention and minimisation of the adverse impacts on
indigenous rights and, where appropriate, fair compensation of those peoples, aswell as measures to address the outcomes of the consultation. If the national law of
the country whose territory is concerned by the project contains provisions for the
aforementioned consultation and provided that the consultation covers all thoseaims, the plan may be adjusted accordingly;(e)information on the control of the undertakings involved in the project, defined
pursuant to Article 3(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, and, incase multiple undertakings are involved, information outlining the relative
involvement of each undertaking in the project;(f)a business plan evaluating the financial viability of the project;(g)

an estimate of the project’s potential for quality job creation and the project’s needs
in terms of skilled workforce and a work plan to support upskilling and reskillingand promote inclusive representation of the workforce;(ga) for projects in third countries or OCTs involving extraction, a plan to improve theenvironmental state of the affected sites after the end of exploitation, with a view torestoring the prior environmental state while taking into account technical andeconomic feasibility.
(gb) for projects related exclusively to processing or recycling located in areas protectedunder Council Directive 92/43/EEC or Directive 2009/147/EC, a description of thetechnically appropriate alternative locations, assessed by the project promoter, andwhy they are not considered appropriate for the location of the project.

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2.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing a single template to be
used by project promoters for the applications referred to in paragraph 1 by [OP please
insert: 6 months after the entry into force of this Regulation]. The template may indicate
how the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. This implementing act
shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
The extent of documentation required in the single template referred to in the firstsubparagraph shall be reasonable.

2a.

The Commission shall assess the applications referred to in paragraph 1 through an
open call with regular cut-off dates. The Commission shall set cut-off dates at least 4
times per year. The first cut-off date shall be set no later than [OP please insert: 3
months after the entry into force of this Regulation].

3.

The Commission shall inform applicants within 30 days after the applicable cut-off date
if it considers the information provided in the application complete. If the application isincomplete, the Commission may request the applicant to submit the additional
information required to complete the application without undue delay. In that case, theCommission shall specify which additional information is required.

3a.

The Commission shall inform the European Critical Raw Materials Board referred to in
Article 34 ('the Board') of all applications that are considered complete in accordancewith the first subparagraph.

4.

The Board shall meet at regular intervals in line with Article [35(xx)] to, based on a fair
and transparent process, discuss and issue an opinion on whether the proposed projects
fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1). The Commission shall provide the Board with its
assessment of whether the proposed projects fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1) inadvance of the meetings referred to in the first subparagraph.

4a.

The Commission shall transmit the full application to the Member State, third country or
OCT whose territory is concerned by a proposed project.

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5.

Where the Member State whose territory is concerned by a proposed project objects togranting the proposed project strategic status, the project shall not be considered for the
status of Strategic Project. The Member State concerned shall present substantiatedreasons for doing so during the discussion referred to in paragraph 4.
For Strategic Projects in third countries, or OCTs, the Commission shall share theapplication received with the third country whose territory is concerned by the proposed
project. The Commission shall not approve the application before receiving the explicit
approval of the relevant third country.

6.

The Commission shall, taking account of the Board's opinion referred to in paragraph 4,
adopt its decision on the recognition of the project as Strategic Project within 90 days ofacknowledging the completeness of the application in accordance with paragraph 3 andshall notify the applicant thereof.
The Commission's decision shall be reasoned and duly justified. The Commission shallshare its decision with the Board and the Member State or third country whose territory
is concerned by the project ▌ .

7.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity or size of an application so require or
where the number of applications received before a particular cut-off date is too high toprocess an application within the time limit referred to in paragraph 6, the Commission
may, on a case-by-case basis and no later than 20 days before its expiry, extend that time
limit by a maximum of 90 days. In that event, the Commission shall inform the project
promoter of the reasons justifying the extension and of the date when the decision is
expected in writing.
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8.

Where the Commission finds that a Strategic Project no longer fulfils the criteria set out in
Article 5(1) or where its recognition was based on an application containing informationthat is incorrect to the extent that it affects its compliance with the criteria of the Article
5 (1), it may, taking into account the opinion of the Board, repeal the decision granting a
project the status of Strategic Project.
Before adopting a decision to repeal that status, the Commission shall provide the project
promoter with reasons for the decision to repeal, the project promoter shall be given theopportunity to reply and the Commission shall take into account the project promoter's
reply.

9.

Projects which are no longer recognised as Strategic Projects shall lose all rights connectedto that status under this Regulation.

9a.

Strategic Projects that no longer fulfil the criteria set out in Article 5(1) solely due to an
update of Annex I shall be allowed to maintain their status as Strategic Project for 3
years.
Article 7
Reporting and information obligations for Strategic Projects

1.

▌

2.

▌

3.

▌

4.

▌

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5.

The project promoter shall, every two years after the date of recognition as a Strategic
Project, submit a report to the Commission containing information on at least:(a)

progress in the implementation of the project, in particular with regard to the permit
granting process;(b)where relevant, reasons for delays compared to the timetable referred to in Article
6(1), point (c) and a plan to overcome such delays;(c)progress in financing the project, including information on public financial support.

The Commission shall submit a copy of the report to the Board, to facilitate thediscussion referred to in paragraph 4.
6.

The Commission may request additional information from project promoters relevant to
the implementation of the Strategic Project where necessary to ascertain the continued
fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 5(1).

7.

The project promoter shall notify the Commission of:

8.

(a)

changes to the project affecting its fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 5(1);(b)

changes in control of the undertakings involved in the project on a lasting basis,compared to the information referred to in Article 6(1), point (e).

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template to be
used by project promoters for the reports referred to in paragraph 5. The template may
indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 5 shall be expressed. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred toin Article 37(2).
Those implementing acts shall provide for a single template to cover all information
required for the report. The extent of documentation specified in the single template
shall be reasonable.

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9.

The project promoter shall establish and regularly update the company website or a
dedicated project website with information relevant to the local population and to foster
public acceptance about the Strategic Project, including at least information on theenvironmental and social and economic impacts and benefits associated with the Strategic
Project. The website shall be freely accessible to the public and shall be available in alanguage or languages that can be easily understood by the local population.

SECTION 2
PERMIT GRANTING PROCESS

Article 8
Point of single contact
1.

By [OP please insert: 9 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation],
Member States shall set up or designate one or more authorities as Points of Single
Contact. In case a Member State sets up or designates multiple Points of Single Contact,
it shall ensure that there is only one Point of Single Contact per relevant administrative
level and stage of the critical raw materials value chain.

1a.

In case of multiple Points of Single Contact, Member States shall provide a simple,
accessible website on which all Points of Single Contact, including their address andelectronic means of communication, are clearly listed and categorized per relevant
administrative level as well as stage of the critical raw materials value chain. The
website may also contain content provided in accordance with Article 17.

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2.

The Points of Single Contact referred to in paragraph 1 shall be responsible forfacilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process for critical raw material
projects and providing information on the elements referred to in Article 17, including
information on when an application is considered to be completed according to Article
10(5). They shall coordinate and facilitate the submission of any relevant documents andinformation.

2a.

The Points of Single Contact shall be the sole point of contact for the project promoter
and assist the project promoter in understanding any administrative matter relevant to
the permit granting process.

2b.

Project promoters of critical raw materials projects shall have the possibility to contact
the relevant administrative unit within the Point of Single Contact responsible formanaging the tasks specified in this article. If the relevant unit changes, the relevant
unit shall continue to fulfil its responsibilities set out in this paragraph until the project
promoter has been notified of such a change.

3.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

4.

Project promoters shall be allowed to submit all documents relevant to the permit granting
process in electronic form.

5.

The Member States shall ensure that any valid studies, permits or authorisations issued or
conducted for a given critical raw material project are taken into account and that no
duplicate studies, permits or authorisations are required, unless otherwise required undernational or Union law.

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6.

Member States shall ensure that applicants have easy access to information on and ▌procedures for the settlement of disputes concerning the permit granting process ▌ forcritical raw materials projects, including, where applicable, alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms.

7.

Member States shall ensure that the Point of Single Contact referred to in paragraph 1
have a sufficient number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical andtechnological resources necessary ▌ for the effective performance of its tasks under thisRegulation.

8.

▌
▌
▌
Article 9
Priority status of Strategic Projects-1.

Strategic Projects shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply of strategic
raw materials in the Union.

-1a.

With regard to the environmental impacts or obligations addressed in Articles 6(4) and16(1)(c) of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article 9(1)(a)of Directive 2009/147/EC or in Articles [4(8) and 4(8a)] of the Nature Restoration
Regulation, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be considered as being of public
interest or serving public health and safety, and may be considered as having anoverriding public interest provided that all the conditions set out in those acts are
fulfilled.

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1.

For the purpose of ensuring efficient administrative processing of the permitting processes
related to Strategic Projects in the Union, project promoters and all authorities concerned
shall ensure that those processes are treated in the most rapid way possible in accordancewith Union and national law.

2.

Without prejudice to obligations provided for in Union law, Strategic Projects in the Union
shall be granted the status of the highest national significance possible, where such a statusexists in national law, and be treated accordingly in the permit granting processes.

3.

All dispute resolution procedures, litigation, appeals and judicial remedies related to thepermit-granting process and the issuance of permits for Strategic Projects in the Union in
front of any national courts, tribunals, panels, including mediation or arbitration, where
they exist in national law, shall be treated as urgent, if and to the extent to which nationallaw provides for such urgency procedures and provided that the normally applicable rights
of defence of individuals or of local communities would be respected. Project promoters ofStrategic Projects shall participate in such urgency procedure, where applicable.
Article 10
Duration of the permit granting process

1.

2.

For Strategic Projects in the Union, the permit granting process shall not exceed:(a)27 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;(b)

15 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.

For Strategic Projects in the Union that had entered in the permit granting process before
being granted the status of Strategic Project and for expansions of Strategic Projects
already granted with a permit, the duration of the remaining steps of the permit granting
process after the project is granted strategic status shall, in derogation from paragraph 1,
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(a)

24 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;(b)

12 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.

(ba) Where an environmental impact assessment is required pursuant to Directive
2011/92/EU, the step of the assessment referred to in Article 1 (2)(g) (i) of that
Directive shall not be included in the duration for permit granting process referred
to in paragraph 1 and 2.
3.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed projectso require, the Member State may extend the time limits referred to in paragraph 1, point(a), and 2, point (a), by a maximum of 6 months and the time limits referred to inparagraph 1, point (b), and 2, point (b), by a maximum of 3 months, before their expiry
and on a case-by-case basis. In that event, the designated Point of Single Contact referred
to in Article 8(1) shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying the extension
and of the date when the comprehensive decision is expected in writing.

4.

By way of derogation from Article 4(6) of Directive 2011/92/EU, the determination ofwhether the project shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5
to 10 of the abovementioned Directive, shall be made within 30 days from the date on
which the developer has submitted all the information required pursuant to article 4(4) of
the abovementioned Directive.

5.

No later than 45 days following the receipt of a permit granting application related to aStrategic Project, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shallacknowledge that the application is complete or ▌ if the project promoter has not sent all
the information required to process an application, request the project promoter to submit acomplete application without undue delay, detailing which information is missing. In
case the submitted application is deemed incomplete a second time, the designated Pointof Single Contact shall not request information in areas not covered in the first request
for additional information and may only request further evidence to complete theidentified missing information.

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The date of the acknowledgement ▌ referred to in the first subparagraph shall serve as thestart of the permit granting process.
6.

No later than one month following the date of ▌ acknowledgement referred to inparagraph 5, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall draw
up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned, adetailed schedule for the permit granting process. The schedule shall be published by ▌ theproject promoter on the website referred to in Article 7(7) on a free access website. The
designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall update the timetable incase of significant changes potentially affecting the timing of the comprehensive
decision.

6a.

The designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) shall notify the project
promoter when the environmental impact assessment report referred in Article 5(1) of
Directive 2011/92/EU is due, taking into account the organisation of the permit granting
process in the relevant Member State and the need to allow sufficient time to assess thereport. The period as from the date the environmental impact assessment report is due
until the submission of that report shall not be counted towards the duration of thepermit granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

6b.

Where the consultation according to article 1(2)(g)(ii) of Directive 2011/92/EU results inthe need to supplement the environmental impact assessment report with additional
information, the designated Point of Single Contact referred to in Article 8(1) may givethe project promotor the opportunity to submit additional information. In such a case,the designated Point of Single Contact shall notify the project promoter when the
additional information is due, which shall be in no less than 30 days after the
notification. The period as from the date the additional information is due until thesubmission of that information shall not be counted towards the duration of the permit
granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

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7.

The time limits set in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising from
Union and international law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal procedures andjudicial remedies before a court or tribunal.
The time limits set in this Article for any of the permit granting procedures shall be without
prejudice to any shorter time limits set by Member States.

Article 11
Environmental assessments and authorisations
1.

Where an environmental impact assessment is required for a Strategic Project inaccordance with Articles 5 to 9 of Directive 2011/92/EU, the relevant project promoter
shall request, no later than 30 days after the notification of the recognition as Strategic
Project and before submitting the application, an opinion to the designated point of
single contact on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in theenvironmental impact assessment report under Article 5(1) of that Directive.
The designated Point of Single Contact shall ensure that the opinion referred to in the firstsubparagraph is issued as soon as possible and within a period of time not exceeding 45
days from the date on which the project promoter submitted its request.

2.

In the case of Strategic Projects for which the obligation to carry out assessments of theeffects on the environment arises simultaneously from Council Directive 92/43/EEC,
Directives 2000/60/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2009/147/EC 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or
2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and the Council, the Member State shall ensurethat a coordinated or a joint procedure fulfilling all the requirements of that Union
legislation is applied.

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ENUnder the coordinated procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the ▌ competentauthority ▌ shall coordinate the various individual assessments of the environmental
impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislation.
Under the joint procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the ▌ competent authority▌ shall provide for a single assessment of the environmental impact of a particular projectrequired by the relevant Union legislation.
3.

The ▌ competent authority ▌ shall ensure that the authorities concerned issue the reasoned
conclusion referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(iv) of Directive 2011/92/EU on theenvironmental impact assessment of a Strategic Project shall be issued within 90 days ofreceiving all necessary information gathered pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of that
Directive and completing the consultations referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of that Directive.

3a.

In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed
project so require, the competent authority may extend the time limit referred to inparagraph 3 of this Article by a maximum of 20 days, before its expiry and on a case-bycase basis. In that event, the point of single contact referred in Article 8(1) shall informthe project promoter of the reasons justifying the extension and of the date when thereasoned conclusion is expected in writing.

4.

In the case of Strategic Projects, the timeframe for consulting the public concerned as
referred to in Article 1(2)(e) of Directive 2011/92/EU and authorities referred to in
Article 6(1) of that Directive on the environmental impact assessment report referred to in
Article 5(1) of that Directive shall not be longer than 85 days and not shorter than 30days in accordance with article 6(7) of the above mentioned Directive. In exceptional
cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed project so require,
the Member State may extend the timeline by a maximum of 40 additional days. The
point of single contact shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying theextension.

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5.

Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the permit granting process for Strategic
Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before the being granted the statusof Strategic Project.
Paragraphs 2 to 4 of this Article shall apply to the permit granting process for Strategic
Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before being granted the status ofStrategic Project only to the extent that the steps addressed in those paragraphs have notyet been completed.

Article 12
Planning
1.

▌National, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing plans, including zoning,spatial plans and land use plans, shall consider including in such plans, where appropriate,
provisions for the development of critical raw materials projects. In doing so, priority shallbe given to artificial and built surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, active or
abandoned mines, including, where appropriate, identified mineral occurrences.

2.

Where plans including provisions for the development of critical raw material projects are
subject to an assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and pursuant to Article 6 of
Directive 92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where applicable, thiscombined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies ▌referred to in ▌ Directive 2000/60/EC ▌ . Where relevant Member States are required toassess the impacts of existing and future activities on the marine environment, including
land-sea interactions, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2014/89/EU, these impacts
shall also be covered by the combined assessment.

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Article 13
Applicability of UNECE conventions
1.

The provisions set out in this Regulation are without prejudice to the obligations under ▌the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access toInformation, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice inEnvironmental Matters, signed at Aarhus on 25 June 1998, and under the UNECE
Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context, signed at
Espoo on 25 February 1991 and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment,
signed in Kyiv on 21 May 2003.

2.

All decisions adopted pursuant to this Section shall be made publicly available in an easily
understandable manner and all decisions concerning one project shall be available atthe same website.

SECTION 3
ENABLING CONDITIONSArticle 14
Accelerating implementation of Strategic Projects
1.

The Commission shall undertake activities, where appropriate in cooperation withMember States, to accelerate and crowd-in private investments in Strategic Projects. Such
activities may, without prejudice to Article 107 and Article 108 of the TFEU, include
providing and coordinating support to Strategic Projects facing difficulties in accessing
finance.

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2.

The Member State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project shall takemeasures to facilitate its timely and effective implementation. These measures may
include:(a)assistance to ensure compliance with applicable administrative and reporting
obligations.

(b)assistance to project promoters to further increase the meaningful involvement andactive participation of affected communities.
Article 15
Coordination of financing

1.

The standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (a) shall ▌ , at the request of a
project promoter of a Strategic Project, discuss and advise on how the financing of its
project can be completed, taking into account the funding already secured and considering
at least the following elements:(a)additional private sources of financing;(b)support through resources from the European Investment Bank Group or otherinternational financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, with a particular focus on the Global Gateway Initiative forStrategic Projects outside of the Union;(c)existing Member State instruments and programmes, including from export credit
agencies, national promotional banks and institutions;(d)relevant Union funding and financing programmes.

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1a.

The Commission shall, based on the advice of the standing sub-group referred to in
Article 35(6), submit, 2 years after entry into force of this Regulation, a report to theBoard describing obstacles to access to finance and recommendations to facilitate accessto finance for Strategic Projects.
Article 16
Facilitating off-take agreements

1.

The Commission shall set up a system to facilitate the conclusion of off-take agreements
related to Strategic Projects, in compliance with competition rules.

2.

The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow potential off-takers to make bids
indicating:

3.

(a)

the volume and quality of strategic raw materials they intend to purchase;(b)

the intended price or price range;(c)the intended duration of the off-take agreement.

The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow project promoters of Strategic Projects tomake offers indicating:(a)the volume and quality of strategic raw materials for which they are seeking toconclude off-take agreements;(b)

the intended price or price range at which they are willing to sell;(c)the intended duration of the off-take agreement.

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4.

Based on the bids and offers received pursuant to paragraph 2 and 3, the Commission shallbring project promoters of Strategic Projects in contact with potential off-takers relevant
for their project.
Article 17
Online accessibility of administrative information

1.

Member States shall provide the following information on administrative processes
relevant to critical raw material projects online, and in a centralised and easily accessible
manner:(-a) the information referred to in Article 8 paragraph 1a;

1a.

(a)

the permit-granting process and related administrative processes required for
obtaining the permit;(b)financing and investment services;(c)funding possibilities at Union or Member State level;(d)business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax declaration, local
tax laws, labour law.

The Commission shall, in a centralised and easily accessible manner, provide online
information on administrative processes relevant to obtaining the status of Strategic
Projects and on the benefits of such status .

SECTION 4
EXPLORATION

Article 18
National exploration programmes
1.

Each Member State shall draw up a national programme for general exploration targeted at
critical raw materials and carrier minerals of critical raw materials. Each Member State
shall draw up the first such programme by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry
into force of this Regulation]. The national programmes shall be reviewed and, if
necessary, updated, at least every 5 years.

2.

The national exploration programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall include measures toincrease available information on the Union’s critical raw material occurrences ▌ . They
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(b)

geochemical campaigns, including to establish the chemical compositions of soils,
sediments, rocks;(c)geoscientific surveys, such as geophysical surveys;(d)processing of the data gathered through general exploration, including through thedevelopment of predictive maps;

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(e)

reprocessing of existing geoscientific survey data to check for unidentified mineraloccurrences containing critical raw materials and carrier minerals of critical raw
materials.

(ea) Where a Member State’s geological conditions are so that, with a high degree ofcertainty, no deposits of critical raw materials or their carrier minerals will beidentified through the measures listed in paragraph 2, the national programme
referred to in paragraph 1 may consist of scientific evidence to that effect. Suchevidence shall be updated, in the context of the regular review of the national
programme, to reflect any changes in the list of critical raw materials.
3.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission their national programmes referred
to in paragraph 1.

4.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on
progress in the implementation of the measures included in their national programmes.

5.

Member States shall make maps showing basic information on ▌ mineral occurrences
containing critical raw materials, gathered through the measures set out in the national
programmes referred to in paragraph 1, publicly available on a free access website. This
information shall, where applicable, include the classification of the identified occurrencesusing the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources. More detailed
information, including processed geophysical and geochemical data at appropriate
resolution and large scale geological mapping, shall be made available upon request.
The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template formaking available the information referred to in the first subparagraph. The template may
indicate how the information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be expressed. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred toin Article 37(2).

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6.

Taking into consideration existing cooperation on general exploration, the standing subgroup referred to in Article 35(6), point (b) shall discuss the national programmes referred
to in paragraph 1 and their implementation, including at least:(a)the potential for cooperation, including on exploration of cross-border mineraloccurrences and common geological formations;(b)best practices related to the measures listed in paragraph 2;(c)the possibility to create an integrated database for storing the results of the national
programmes referred to in paragraph 1.

Chapter 4
Risk monitoring and mitigation
Article 19
Monitoring and stress testing
1.

The Commission shall monitor supply risks related to critical raw materials, in particular
those that would risk to distort competition or fragment the internal market.That
monitoring shall cover at least the evolution of the following parameters:(a)trade flows between the Union and third countries and within the single market;(b)demand and supply;(c)concentration of supply;(d)Union and global production and production capacities at different stages of thevalue chain.

(da) price volatility;

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(db) bottlenecks at any stages of Union production and permitting bottlenecks for
Strategic projects within the Union;(d1) potential obstacles to trade in raw materials or in goods that use critical raw
materials as input within the internal market.
2.

The national authorities participating in the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6)▌ (c) shall support the Commission in the monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 by:(a)sharing relevant information they have at their disposal on the evolution of theparameters listed in paragraph 1, except for Article 19(1), point (da), including theinformation referred to in Article 20;(b)gathering, in coordination with the Commission and the other participating
authorities, information on the evolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1,
including the information referred to in Article 20;(c)providing an analysis of the supply risks for critical raw materials in light of theevolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1.

(ca) informing the Commission without delay if the Member State becomes aware of arisk of serious disruption in the supply of critical raw materials.
3.

The Commission, in collaboration with the national authorities participating in the standing
sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c), shall ensure that a stress test is performed
for each strategic raw material’s supply chain at least every three years or if significant
increase in supply risks is detected as a result of the monitoring referred in paragraph 1.
To that end, the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c), shall coordinate
and divide the implementation of stress tests for the different strategic raw materials by thedifferent participating authorities.

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The stress tests referred to in the first subparagraph shall consist of an assessment of thevulnerability of the Union’s supply chain of the relevant strategic raw material to supply
disruptions by estimating the impact of different scenarios that may cause such disruptions
and their potential effects, taking into account at least the following elements:(a)where the raw material concerned is extracted, processed or recycled;(b)

the capacities of economic operators along the value chain as well as the market
structure;(c)factors that might affect supply, including but not limited to the geopoliticalsituation, logistics, energy supply, workforce or natural disasters;(d)the availability and ability to swiftly diversify supply sources, substitute materials or
mitigate the demand;(e)the users of the relevant raw material along the value chain and their share ofdemand, with special attention to the manufacturing of technologies relevant for thegreen and digital transitions as well as defence and aerospace applications.

(ea) potential obstacles to cross-border trade in relevant raw materials or in goods thatthat use raw materials as an input within the internal market.
4.

The Commission shall make publicly available on a free access website and regularly
update a monitoring dashboard containing:(a)aggregated information on the evolution of the parameters referred to in paragraph 1;(b)an aggregated description of calculation of the supply risk for critical raw materials
in light of the information referred to in point (a);

(c)

▌

(d)

where appropriate, general suggestions for suitable mitigation strategies to decrease
supply risk;

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ENunless it endangers the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive,
confidential and classified information.
5.

The Commission shall analyse the information gathered pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
Where the Commission, based on the analysis, considers that there a is clear indication of
the risk of a supply disruption likely to distort competition or fragment the internalmarket, the Commission shall alert Member States, the Board and the Union governancebodies of crisis vigilance or crisis management mechanisms whose scope covers relevant
critical or strategic raw materials. Where relevant, the Commission shall also assess
whether this risk requires an update of the list of strategic raw materials pursuant to
Article 3(3).
Article 20
Information obligations for monitoring

1.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information to
the Commission on ▌ new or existing critical raw material project on their territory that isrelevant regarding to Article 19(1), point (d), including a classification of new projects
according to the United Nations Framework Classification of Resources.

2.

Member States shall identify key market operators along the critical raw materials value
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monitor their activities by exploring publicly available data and if necessary,through regular and proportionate surveys with a view to gathering information
required for the monitoring tasks referred to in Article 19. Key market operators may
refuse to submit data requested in those surveys if sharing that data would lead tothe disclosure of trade and business secrets, and shall only fill out the survey to theextent the requested information is already available to them. If a key market
operator refuses to submit requested data, it shall present a justified notice to therequesting Member State.

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3.

(b)

as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on the results of
the information gathering pursuant to paragraph 2 (a);(c)

without delay notify the Commission of major events that may hinder the regular
operations of the activities of key market operators.

Member States shall transmit the data collected pursuant to paragraphs 2(a) and (b) of this
Article to national statistical authorities and to Eurostat for the purposes of compiling
statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament andof the Council. Member States shall designate the national authority responsible fortransmitting the data to national statistical offices and Eurostat.
Article 21
Reporting of strategic stocks

1.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, submit to theCommission information on the state of their strategic stocks of strategic raw materials.
Member States shall not be required to submit information regarding certain strategic
stocks when such information could compromise its defence and national security. In
this case, it shall present a justified notice.

2.

The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover stocks held by all public authorities,
publicly owned companies or economic operators charged by a Member State to build up
strategic stocks on its behalf and shall at least include a description of:(a)the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material, on an aggregated level,measured both in tonnes and as a percentage of annual national consumption of therelevant materials, as well as the chemical form and purity of the materials stocked;(b)the evolution of the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material, on an
aggregated level, over the preceding 5 years;

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(c)

any rules or procedures applicable to the release, allocation and distribution ofstrategic stocks;

unless it endangers the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive,
confidential and classified information.
3.

The report may also include information of strategic stocks of critical and other raw
materials.
Article 22
Coordination of strategic stocks

1.

2.

By [OP please complete: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] andevery 2 years after that, the Commission shall, based on the information received pursuant
to Article 21(1), share with the Board:(a)a draft benchmark indicating a safe level of Union stocks for each strategic raw
material, defined pursuant to paragraph 2;(b)a comparison of the overall level of Union stocks for each strategic raw material andthe draft benchmark referred to in point (a);(c)

information on the potential cross-border accessibility of strategic stocks, in light of
the rules or procedures for their release, allocation and distribution.

The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board ▌ shall adopt a benchmark
indicating a safe level of Union stocks of strategic raw materials, which shall:(a)be expressed as the amount needed to cover an amount of days of average daily net
imports in case of a supply disruption, calculated on the basis of the amount ofimports during the previous calendar year;(b)take into account publicly available information on stocks held by private operators▌;

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(c)
3.

be proportionate to the supply risk and economic importance associated with therelevant strategic raw material.

The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board, may issue opinions addressed
to Member States:(a)to increase the level of strategic stocks, and where applicable, production
capabilities, taking into account the comparison referred to in paragraph 1, point (b),the relative distribution of existing stocks among Member States and theconsumption of strategic raw materials by economic operators in the Member States'
respective territories;(b)

to amend or coordinate the rules or procedures for the release, allocation anddistribution of strategic stocks in order to improve the potential cross-borderaccessibility, in particular where necessary for the production of strategic
technologies.

4.

In preparing opinions referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission and the Board shall give
particular weight to the need to maintain and promote incentives for private operators,
which rely on strategic raw materials as inputs, to constitute their own stocks or to takeother measures to manage their exposure to supply risks.

5.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information onwhether and how they have implemented or intend to implement the opinions referred to inparagraph 3.

6.

Ahead of the participation of at least two Member States in international or multilateralfora in the areas of strategic stocks for strategic raw materials, the Commission shallensure a prior coordination either between the Member States concerned and theCommission or by a dedicated meeting of the Board.

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7.

The data collected on the available Union stocks shall be provided by the Commission to
the Union governance bodies responsible for crisis vigilance or crisis management
mechanisms covering relevant strategic raw materials.

7a.

No provisions under this Article and Article 21 shall constitute an obligation for
Member State to hold or release strategic stocks.
Article 23
Company risk preparedness ▌1.

Within 12 months of entry into force of this Regulation and within 12 months of each
update of the strategic raw materials list in accordance with Article 3, Member Statesshall identify the large companies operative on their territory that use strategic raw
materials to manufacture batteries for energy storage and e-mobility, equipment related
to hydrogen production and utilisation, equipment related to renewable energy
generation, aircrafts, traction motors, heat pumps, data transmission and storage,
mobile electronic devices, equipment related to additive manufacturing, robotics, drones,
rocket launchers, satellites or advanced chips.
▌

2.

▌Companies referred to under paragraph 1 shall, at least every 3 years and to the extent
the required information is available to them perform a risk assessment of their supply
chain of strategic raw materials, including:(a)a mapping of where the strategic raw materials they use are extracted, processed or
recycled;(b)an analysis of the factors that might affect their supply of strategic raw materials;(ba) an assessment of their vulnerabilities to supply disruptions.

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2a.

Where the information referred to in paragraph 2 is not made available to the companies
referred to in paragraph 1 by their suppliers upon request, they may perform their risk
assessment on the basis of the information published by the Commission pursuant toarticle 19(4), or otherwise publicly available information, to the extent possible.

2b.

If significant vulnerabilities to supply disruptions are detected as a result of the risk
assessment referred to in paragraph 2, companies referred to under paragraph 1 shalltake efforts to mitigate these vulnerabilities, including by assessing the possibility todiversify its supply chains or to substitute the strategic raw materials.

2c.

Companies referred to under paragraph 1 may present a report containing the results of
the risk assessment referred to in paragraph 2, including the source of the information
on which the assessment is based any significant risks detected as well as mitigation
measures envisioned or implemented to their board of directors.

3.

Member States may require companies referred to in paragraph 1 to present to their boardof directors the report referred to in paragraph 2 and the requests for informationreferred to in paragraph 3.
Article 24
Joint purchasing

1.

The Commission shall set up and operate a system to aggregate the demand of interested
undertakings consuming strategic raw materials established in the Union and ▌ seek offersfrom suppliers to match that aggregated demand. This shall cover both unprocessed andprocessed strategic raw materials.

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1a.

Prior to setting up the system referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission, in
consultation with the European Critical Raw Materials Board, shall carry out anassessment of the expected impact of the system on the market for each strategic raw
material with a view to avoid any disproportionate impact on competition in the internalmarket.

2.

On the basis of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1a, when setting up andoperating the system referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall:(a)choose for which strategic raw materials, at which processing stage, the system canbe used, taking into account the relative supply risk of different strategic raw
materials ▌ ;(b)set minimum amounts of demanded material to participate in the system, taking into
account the expected number of interested participants and the need to ensure amanageable amount of participants, while taking into account the needs for small
and medium sized enterprises.

3.

Participation in the system referred to in paragraph shall be open and transparent to allinterested undertakings established in the Union.

4.

Union undertakings ▌ participating in the system referred to in paragraph 1 may, on atransparent basis, jointly negotiate the purchase, including the prices or other terms andconditions of the purchasing agreement or use joint purchasing in order to achieve better
conditions with their suppliers or to prevent shortages. Participating Union undertakings ▌shall comply with Union law, including Union competition law.

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5.

Entities shall be excluded from participation as supplier, in the demand aggregation andjoint purchasing or as service provider if they are:(a)targeted by Union restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215 TFEU;(b)

directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf or at the direction ofnatural or legal persons, entities or bodies targeted by such Union restrictive
measures.

6.

By derogation from Article 176 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Commission
shall contract the necessary services of an entity established in the Union through a
procurement procedure under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, acting as a service
provider to set up and operate the system under paragraph 1. The Service provider selectedshall not have any conflict of interest.

7.

The Commission shall define in the service contract the tasks to be provided by the service
provider, including the allocation of demand, the allocation of access rights for supply,
registration and verification of all participants, publication and reporting of the activities
and any other task necessary to set up and operate the system. The service contract shallalso deal with practicalities of the operation of the service provider including the use of the
IT tool, the security measures, the currency or currencies, the payment regime, andliabilities.

8.

The service contract with the service provider shall reserve to the Commission the right tomonitor and audit it. For that purpose, the Commission shall have full access to theinformation held by the service provider in relation to the contract. All servers andinformation shall be physically located and stored in the territory of the Union.

9.

The service contract with the selected service provider shall determine the ownership of
the information obtained by the service provider, and shall provide for the possible transferof that information to the Commission at the termination or expiry of the service contract.

Chapter 5
Sustainability
SECTION 1
CIRCULARITY

Article 25
National measures on circularity
1.

Each Member State shall by 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing
act referred to in paragraph 7 adopt and implement, or include in, national programmes
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(-a) incentivise technological progress and resource efficiency in order to moderate theexpected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials;(a)promote waste prevention and increase re-use and repair of products andcomponents with relevant critical raw materials recovery potential;(b)

increase the collection, sorting and processing of waste with high critical raw
materials recovery potential, including metal scraps, and ensure their introduction
into the appropriate recycling system, with a view to maximising the availability
and quality of recyclable material as an input to critical raw material recycling
facilities;

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(c)

increase the use of secondary critical raw materials ▌ , including through measures
such as taking recycled content into account in award criteria related to public
procurement or financial incentives for the use of secondary critical raw materials;(d)increase the technological maturity of recycling technologies for critical raw
materials and ▌ promote circular design, materials efficiency and ▌ substitution ofcritical raw materials in products and applications, at least by including support
actions to that effect under national research & ▌ amp; innovation programmes;(e)ensure that measures are in place to equip their workforce with the skills needed tosupport circularity of the critical raw materials value chain, including measures on
upskilling and reskilling;(ea) promote that financial contributions paid by the producer, where they exist innational law, in compliance with its extended producer responsibility obligations
established in accordance with Article 8(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC, incentivise
that products contain a larger share of secondary critical raw materials recoveredfrom waste recycled in line with relevant environmental standards established inUnion law;(eb) take necessary measures to ensure that critical raw materials that are exported
under an end-of-waste status fulfill the relevant conditions in accordance withdirective 2008/98/EC and other relevant Union law;(ec) where relevant, support the use of Union quality standards for recycling processesof waste streams containing critical raw materials.
1a.

The programmes referred to in paragraph 1 may be integrated into new or existing waste
management plans and waste prevention programmes adopted pursuant to Articles 28
and 29 of Directive 2008/98/EC.
The national programmes referred to in the first subparagraph shall be reviewed and if
necessary updated at the latest 5 years after their adoption.

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2.

The programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover in particular products and waste
which are not subject to any specific requirement on collection, treatment, recycling or reuse under Union legislation. For other products and waste, the measures shall be
implemented in coherence with existing Union legislation.
With respect to points (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph 1, the programmes referred to in thatparagraph may include, without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU, theintroduction of financial incentives, such as discounts, monetary rewards or deposit-refund
systems, to encourage the preparation for re-use and re-use of products with high criticalraw materials recovery potential, and the collection and treatment of waste from suchproducts.

3.

▌

4.

The national measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be designed so as to avoid
barriers to trade and distortions of competition in conformity with the TFEU.

5.

▌ Member States shall identify separately, and report, the quantities of components
containing relevant amounts of critical raw materials removed from waste electrical andelectronic equipment and the quantities of critical raw materials recovered from such
equipment. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the format anddetails of such reporting. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 37(3). The first reporting period shall cover
the first full calendar year after the adoption of those implementing acts. Member Statesshall submit this data when reporting to the Commission the data concerning thequantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment recycled, pursuant to Article
16(6) of Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment.

6.

Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on
the adoption of the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 and on progress in theeffective implementation of the measures taken pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.

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7.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying a list of products, components
and waste streams that shall at least be considered as having a relevant critical raw
materials recovery potential within the meaning of paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
In drawing up this list, the Commission shall take account of:(a)the total amount of critical raw materials recoverable from those products,
components and waste streams:(b)

the extent to which those products, components and waste streams are covered byUnion legislation;(c)regulatory gaps;(d)particular challenges affecting their collection and waste treatment;(e)existing systems of collection and waste treatment applying to them.

The implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall be adopted by [12 months
after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] in accordance with the examination
procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

Article 26
Recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste
1.

Operators obliged to draw up waste management plans in accordance with Article 5 ofDirective 2006/21/EC shall provide to the competent authority as defined in Article 3(27)of Directive 2006/21/EC a preliminary economic assessment study regarding the potential
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(b)

the extractive waste being generated or, where considered more effective, from theextracted volume prior to it becoming waste.

(ba) Operators are exempted from the obligation under paragraph 1, if they can showwith a high degree of certainty to the competent authority that the extractive waste
does not contain critical raw materials that are technically recoverable.
2.

The study referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least include an estimation of the quantities
and concentrations of critical raw materials contained in the extractive waste and in theextracted volume and an assessment of their technical and economic recoverability.
Operators shall specify the methods used to estimate the quantities and concentrations.

3.

Operators of extractive waste facilities shall submit the study referred to in paragraph 1 tothe competent authority as defined in Article 3(27) of Directive 2006/21/EC by [OP please
insert: 30 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. Operators of newwaste facilities shall submit this study to the competent authority when submitting theirwaste management plans in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 2006/21/EC.

4.

Member States shall establish a database of ▌ closed extractive waste facilities, including
abandoned extractive waste facilities, located on their territory where the characteristicsof the waste sites or geological conditions do not make the presence of potentially
technically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials unlikely. This database shallcontain information on:(a)the location, areal extent and waste volume, or where appropriate, the estimatedvolume, of the waste facility;(b)the operator or former operator of the waste facility and, where applicable, their legal
successor;(c)the approximate quantities and concentrations of all raw materials contained in theextractive waste and, where available, in the original mineral deposit, in accordancewith paragraph 6 of this Article;

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(d)

any additional information considered relevant by the Member State to enable therecovery of critical raw materials from a waste facility.

4a.

Member States shall, by [OP please insert: 42 months after the date of entry into force of
this Regulation] adopt and implement measures to promote the recovery of critical raw
materials from extractive waste, in particular from closed extractive waste facilities
identified in the database referred to in paragraph 4 as containing potentially
economically recoverable critical raw materials.

5.

The database referred to in paragraph 4 shall be put in place by [OP please insert: 18
months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and all information completed
by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. It shallbe made available in a publicly accessible and digital form and updated at least every 3
years to incorporate additional available information and newly closed or newly identified
facilities.

6.

In order to provide the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), Member Statesshall undertake at least the following activities:(a)for ▌ closed extractive waste facilities, Member States shall comprehensively review
the available permitting files, or other available documentation when permitting
files do not exist, by [OP please insert: 18 months after the date of entry into force of
this Regulation];(b)

for such extractive waste facilities where available information could indicate thepresence of potentially economically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials,
Member States shall additionally conduct, by [OP please insert: 2 years after the dateof entry into force of this Regulation], ▌ representative geochemical sampling;16127/23▌

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(c)

7.

for such extractive waste facilities where the activities described under points (a) and(b) of this paragraph have indicated potentially economically recoverable quantities
of critical raw materials, Member States shall additionally carry out, by [OP please
insert: 34 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], a moredetailed sampling with subsequent chemical and mineralogical characterisation
involving core logging or equivalent techniques, where this is environmentally soundin accordance with applicable environmental requirements at Union level and withthe requirements of Directive 2006/21/EC where relevant.

The activities described in paragraph 6 shall be carried out within the limits of national
legal systems pertaining to property rights, ownership of land, mineral resources andwaste, environmental and health impacts and any other relevant provisions. Where suchfactors inhibit the activities, the Member State authorities shall seek the cooperation of theoperator or owner of the waste facility. The results of the activities described underparagraph 6 shall be made accessible as part of the database referred to in paragraph 4.
Where possible, the Member States shall include in the database a classification of theclosed extractive waste facilities according to the United Nations Framework Classification
for Resources.
Article 27
Recyclability of permanent magnets

1.

From 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to inparagraph 2, any natural or legal person that places on the market magnetic resonanceimaging devices, wind energy generators, industrial robots, motor vehicles, light means oftransport, cooling generators, heat pumps, electric motors, including where they areintegrated in other products, automatic washing machines, tumble driers, microwaves,vacuum cleaners or dishwashers shall ensure that those products bear a conspicuous,clearly legible and indelible label indicating:(a)16127/23▌

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(b)

if the product incorporates one or more permanent magnets, whether those magnets
belong to any of the following types:(i)

Neodymium-Iron-Boron;(ii)

Samarium-Cobalt;(iii) Aluminium-Nickel-Cobalt;(iv) Ferrite.
2.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing the format for the labellingreferred to in paragraph 1. That implementing act shall be adopted by [OP please insert: 18
months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] in accordance with theexamination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

3.

From 2 years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to inparagraph 2, any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred to inparagraph 1 incorporating one or more permanent magnets of the types referred inparagraph 1, point (b) ▌ shall ensure that a data carrier is present on or in the product.

4.

The data carrier referred to in paragraph 3 shall be linked to a unique product identifier thatprovides access to the following:(a)the name, registered trade name or registered trademark and the postal address of the
responsible natural or legal person and, where available, electronic means ofcommunication where they can be contacted;(b)

information on the weight, location and chemical composition of all individual
permanent magnets included in the product, and on the presence and type of magnet
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(c)

information enabling access and safe removal of all permanent magnets incorporated
in the product, at least including the sequence of all removal steps, tools or
technologies required for the access and removal of the permanent magnet, without
prejudice to Article 15(1) of Directive 2012/19/EU.

5.

For products where the incorporated permanent magnets are exclusively contained in one
or more electric motors incorporated in the product, the information referred to inparagraph 4, point (b), may be replaced by information on the location of those electricmotors, and the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), may be replaced byinformation on the access and removal of the electric motors, at least including thesequence of all removal steps, tools or technologies required for the access and removal of
the electric motors.

6.

For products referred to in paragraph 3 for which a product passport ▌ is required pursuant
to another Union legislative act, the information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be
included in that product passport.

7.

The economic operator placing the product, as referred to in paragraph 1, on the market
shall ensure that information referred to in paragraph 3 is complete, up-to-date, andaccurate and shall remain available for a period at least equal to the product’s typicallifetime plus ten years, including after an insolvency, a liquidation or a cessation of activity
in the Union of the responsible natural or legal person. It may authorise an operator to act
on their behalf.
The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall refer to the product model or, where theinformation differs between units of the same model, to a particular batch or unit. The
information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be accessible to repairers, recyclers, market
surveillance authorities and customs authorities.

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8.

▌
▌
▌

9.

Where information requirements relating to the recycling of permanent magnets are
established in ▌ Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph
1, those requirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.

10.

Products primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from therequirements of this Article.

11.

For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport thatare type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements of this Article shall apply from[OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

11a.

This article shall not apply to: (a) special purpose vehicles as defined in Article 3, point(31), of Regulation (EU) 2018/858; (b) other parts of a vehicle that have been typeapproved in multi-stage type approval of category N1, N2, N3, M2 or M3 than the basevehicle; (c) vehicles produced in small series, as defined in Article 3, point (30), ofRegulation 2018/858.

12.

The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 36 inorder to provide ▌ a list of Combined Nomenclature40 codes and product descriptions
corresponding to the products referred to in paragraph 1 with the aim of facilitating thework of customs authorities in relation to those products and the requirements set out inthis Article and in Article 28.

40

Combined Nomenclature in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87

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Article 28
Recycled content of permanent magnets
1.

From either [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]or 2 years after the entry into force of the delegated act referred to in paragraph 2,
whichever is later, any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred
to in Article 27(1) which incorporate one or more permanent magnets referred to in Article
27(1), point (b), (i) to (iii), and for which the total weight of all such permanent magnets
exceeds 0.2 kg shall make publicly available on a free access website the share ofneodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt
recovered from post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in the
product.

2.

By [OP please insert: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 36 to supplement thisRegulation by establishing rules for the calculation and verification of the share ofneodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt
recovered from ▌ post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in
the products referred to in paragraph 1.
The calculation and verification rules shall specify the applicable conformity assessment
procedure from among the modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC, withthe adaptations necessary in view of the products concerned. When specifying theapplicable conformity assessment procedure, the Commission shall consider the following
criteria:(a)whether the module concerned is appropriate to the type of product and proportionate
to the public interest pursued;(b)the nature of the risks entailed by the product and the extent to which conformity
assessment corresponds to the type and degree of risk;

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(c)

3.

where third party involvement is mandatory, the need for the manufacturer to have a
choice between quality assurance and product certification modules set out in Annex
II of Decision No 768/2008/EC.

After the entry into force of the delegated act under paragraph 2 and no later than 31
December 2031, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation
by laying down minimum shares for neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium,
boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste that must bepresent in the permanent magnet incorporated in the products referred to in paragraph 1.
The delegated act may apply different minimum shares for different products andexclude certain products from this obligation.
Delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide for transitional periods
adapted to the difficulty of adopting the products covered by the measure to ensurecompliance.
The minimum share referred to in the first subparagraph shall be based on a priorassessment of impacts, taking into account:(a)the existing and forecasted availability of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium,terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste;(b)

the information collected pursuant to paragraph 1 and the relative distribution of theshare of recycled content in permanent magnets incorporated in products referred toin paragraph 1 placed on the market;(c)technical and scientific progress, including considerable changes in permanent
magnet technologies impacting the type of materials recovered;(d)the effective and potential contribution of a minimum share to the Union’s climate
and environmental objectives;(e)possible impacts on the functioning of products incorporating permanent magnets;

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(f)

the need to prevent disproportionate negative impacts on the affordability ofpermanent magnets and products incorporating permanent magnets.

4.

Where requirements relating to the recycled content of permanent magnets are establishedin ▌ Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph 1, thoserequirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.

5.

From the date of application of the requirement of paragraph 1, when offering the products
referred to in paragraph 1 for sale, including in case of distance selling, or displaying themin the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing on the market
products referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that their customers have access to theinformation referred to in paragraph 1 before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market products referred to in paragraph 1 shallnot provide or display labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead orconfuse customers with respect to the information referred to in paragraph 1. Products
primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from therequirements of this Article.

6.

For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport thatare type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 5
shall apply from 5 years after the date of entry into force of the delegated act referred to inparagraph 2.

6a.

This article shall not apply to: (a) special purpose vehicles as defined in Article 3, point(31), of Regulation (EU) 2018/858; (b) other parts of a vehicle that have been typeapproved in multi-stage type approval of category N1, N2, N3, M2 or M3 than the basevehicle; (c) vehicles produced in small series, as defined in Article 3, point (30), ofRegulation 2018/858.

SECTION 2
CERTIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

Article 29
Recognised schemes
1.

Governments, industry associations and groupings of interested organisations that havedeveloped and oversee certification schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw
materials ("scheme owners") may apply to have their schemes recognised by theCommission.
Applications referred in the first subparagraph shall contain any relevant evidence related
to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Annex IV. The Commission shall adopt an
implementing act by [OP please insert: three years after the entry into force of the16127/23▌

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Regulation] specifying the information that applications shall at least contain. Those
implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred
to in Article 37(3).
That implementing act shall provide for a single template to cover all information
required for the application. The extent of documentation required to complete thesingle template shall be reasonable.

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2.

Where, on the basis of the evidence provided pursuant to the paragraph 1, the Commission
determines that a certification scheme meets the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or asubset thereof, it shall adopt an implementing act granting that scheme a recognition,
specifying the recognised coverage of the scheme. Those implementing acts shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

2a.

The recognised coverage for each scheme shall be specified along the following
dimensions:(a)the stages of the value chain covered by the scheme;(b)

the stages of the life cycle of a project, including before, during and after closure,that are covered by the scheme; and(c)the sustainability dimensions and environmental risk categories listed in Annex IV
point (b) that are addressed by the scheme.

3.

The Commission shall verify at least every three years that recognised schemes continue
to fulfil the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of the recognised subset of those criteria.

4.

Owners of recognised schemes shall inform the Commission without delay of any changes
or updates related to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of therecognised subset of those criteria, made to those schemes. The Commission shall assess
whether such changes or updates affect the basis for the recognition and take appropriate
action.

5.

If there is evidence of repeated or significant cases where economic operators
implementing a recognised scheme have failed to fulfil the requirements of that scheme,
the Commission shall examine, in consultation with the owner of the recognised scheme,
whether those cases indicate deficiencies in the scheme affecting the basis for therecognition and take appropriate action.

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6.

Where the Commission identifies deficiencies in a recognised scheme affecting the basis
for the recognition, it may grant the scheme owner an appropriate period of time to takeremedial action, which shall not be longer than 12 months.

7.

Where the scheme owner fails or refuses to take the necessary remedial action ▌ and where
the Commission has determined that the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 6 mean thatthe scheme no longer fulfils the criteria laid down in Annex IV, or of the recognised
subset of those criteria, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act withdrawing therecognition of the scheme. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance withthe examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

8.

The Commission shall establish and keep up-to-date a register of recognised schemes. Thatregister shall be made publicly available on a free access website. That website shall also
allow for the collection of feedback from all relevant stakeholders concerning theimplementation of recognised schemes. Such feedback shall be forwarded to therespective scheme owners for consideration.
Article 30
Environmental footprint declaration

1.

Taking into account the result of the report referred to in paragraph 1a and of theassessment referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegatedacts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation to establish rules for the
calculation and verification of the environmental footprint of different critical raw
materials, in accordance with Annex V and taking into account scientifically soundassessment methods and relevant international standards. The calculation and verification
rules shall identify at least the three most relevant impact categories accounting for the
majority of the overall environmental footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions shall be oneof the environmental categories. The footprint declaration shall be limited to these impact
categories.

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1a.

Commission shall by [18 months after entry into force] submit a report to the European
Parliament and the Council setting out which critical raw materials will be prioritised
for assessing whether the obligation to declare the environmental footprint of a criticalraw materials is necessary and proportionate. For the critical raw materials that theCommission has identified as priority, it shall present the conclusions of the assessment
referred to in paragraph 2 by 12 months after the report.

2.

The Commission shall adopt calculation and verification rules for a specific critical raw
material if it has concluded, having considered the various relevant environmental impact
categories, that the critical raw material in question has a significant environmental
footprint and that therefore an obligation to declare the environmental footprint of thatmaterial regarding the impact categories referred to in paragraph 1, when placing it on
the market, is necessary and proportionate to contribute to the Union’s climate andenvironmental objectives by facilitating the supply of critical raw materials with lower
environmental footprint.

3.

When considering whether the obligation foreseen in paragraph 2 is necessary, theCommission shall take into account:(a)whether and how as well as how effectively the Union’s climate and environmental
objectives are already being achieved through other Union legislation applicable tothe critical raw material in question;(b)

the existence and uptake of relevant international standards and guidelines, or theprospects of agreeing on such standards at international level, as well as sustainable
practices on the market, including the voluntary schemes recognised pursuant to
Article 29;(c)the effectiveness of strategic partnerships, strategic projects, trade agreements andother international instruments and outreach conducted by the Union in achieving theUnion’s climate and environmental objectives.

(ca) the associated economic costs and administrative burden for economic operators.

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4.

The Commission shall conduct a prior assessment of impacts in order to decide whether toadopt a delegated act under paragraph 1. Such assessment shall:(a)be based, inter alia, on a consultation of:(i)all relevant stakeholders, such as industry including downstream industry,
SMEs, and, where relevant, the craft industry, social partners, traders, retailers,
importers, organisations promoting human health and environmental
protection, consumer organisations and academia;(ii)

third countries, or OCTs, whose trade with the Union may be significantly
affected by this obligation;(iii) the Board;(iiia) Union agencies with competences in the field of environmental protection, as
appropriate;(b)ensure that any such measure is not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to orwith the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade and is no moretrade-restrictive than necessary to achieve the Union’s climate and environmental
objectives, having regard to the ability of third-country suppliers to comply with sucha declaration such that aggregate trade flows and critical raw materials costs are notdisproportionately affected;(ba) assess whether similar obligations under Union law has produced the intended
effects and significantly contributed to the achievement of the Union's
environmental targets;(c)

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assess whether the measure would contribute to achieving the Union’s climate andenvironmental objectives without disproportionately impacting the ability of Union
industry to source the critical raw material in question.

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5.

Any natural or legal person that places on the market critical raw materials, including
processed and recycled, for which the Commission has adopted calculation andverification rules pursuant to paragraph 1 shall make available an environmental footprint
declaration.
The requirement set out in the first subparagraph shall apply to each individual critical raw
material type placed on the market and shall not apply to critical raw materials included inintermediate or final products.

6.

The environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5 shall contain thefollowing information:(a)the name, registered trade name or registered trademark and the postal address of the
responsible natural or legal person and electronic means of communication where
they can be contacted;(b)

information about the critical raw material type for which the declaration applies;(c)

information about the country and region where the critical raw material was
extracted, processed, refined and recycled, as applicable;(d)the environmental footprint of critical raw material, calculated in accordance with theapplicable verification and calculation rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1;(e)the environmental footprint performance class that the critical raw material
corresponds to, established in accordance with the applicable delegated act adopted
pursuant to paragraph 7;(f)a web link providing access to a public version of the study supporting theenvironmental footprint declaration results.

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7.

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement
this Regulation by establishing environmental footprint performance classes within areasonable timeframe for critical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules
have been adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, in accordance with Annex V.

7a.

The Commission shall, when setting calculation rules for the environmental footprint ofintermediate and final products containing critical raw materials, require the use of theenvironmental footprint calculation rules referred to in this article, where possible.

8.

The environmental footprint declaration shall be made available on a free access website inan easily understandable manner.
The Commission is empowered to adopt an implementing act establishing the format for
the environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5. That implementing act
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).

9.

When offering critical raw materials for sale, including in case of distance selling, ordisplaying them in the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing
on the market critical raw materials shall ensure that their customers have access to theenvironmental footprint declaration before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market critical raw materials shall not provide ordisplay labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead or confusecustomers with respect to the information included in the environmental footprint
declaration.

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SECTION 3
FREE MOVEMENT, CONFORMITY AND MARKET SURVEILLANCE

Article 31
Free movement
1.

Member States shall not, for reasons relating to information for recycling or recycledcontent of permanent magnets or for reasons relating to information on the environmental
footprint of critical raw material covered by this Regulation, prohibit, restrict or impede themaking available on the market or the putting into service of products incorporating
permanent magnets or of critical raw materials that comply with this Regulation.

2.

At trade fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations or similar events, Member States shall notprevent the showing of products incorporating permanent magnets or of critical raw
materials which do not comply with this Regulation, provided that a visible sign clearly
indicates that such products or materials do not comply with this Regulation and that theycannot be made available on the market until they have been brought into conformity.
Article 32
Conformity and market surveillance

1.

Before placing a product covered by Article 27 or 28 on the market, the responsible naturalor legal persons shall ensure that the applicable conformity assessment procedure has been
carried out and that the required technical documentation has been drawn up. Where
compliance of a product with the applicable requirements have been demonstrated by the
conformity assessment procedure, the responsible natural or legal persons shall ensure thatan EU declaration of conformity has been drawn up and the CE marking has been affixed.

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2.

The conformity assessment procedure for products covered by the requirements set out in
Article 27 shall be the procedure set out in Annex IV of Directive 2009/125/EC, unless
those products are also covered by the requirements set out in Article 28, in which case theconformity assessment procedure shall be the procedure set out in the calculation andverification rules adopted pursuant to Article 28(2).

3.

▌

4.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

5.

▌
▌
▌
▌
▌

6.

This Article shall not apply to products covered by type approval under Regulation
2018/858 and Regulation 168/2013.

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ENArticle 32a
Implementation and alignment with Union harmonisation legislation
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to
supplement Articles 27, 28, 30 and 32 in order to:(a)establish requirements for the technical design and operation of the data carrier andunique product identifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(b)

refer to technical standards to be used in relation to the data carrier and unique productidentifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(c)

establish rules for the inclusion of the unique product identifier referred to in Article
27(4) in registries relevant for market surveillance and customs controls;(d)establish requirements related to customs controls related to the data carrier and uniqueproduct identifier referred to in Article 27(3) and (4);(e)

establish procedures for dealing with products presenting risk at national level orformal-non-compliances, as well as related safeguard procedures in case objections areraised against the market surveillance measures taken;(f)establish requirements related to the EU declaration of conformity and generalprinciples and rules and conditions for affixing CE marking.

In doing so, the Commission shall refer to or ensure alignment with other Union harmonisationand legislation, in particular [OP: please insert reference to Ecodesign Directive] and take into
account the need to limit administrative burden while ensuring the effective implementation of
Articles 27, 28 and 30.

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ENChapter 6▌
Article 33▌

Chapter 7
Governance
Article 34
European Critical Raw Materials Board
1.

The European Critical Raw Materials Board (the ‘Board’) is established.

2.

The Board shall have an advisory role to the Commission and perform the tasks set out inthis Regulation.
Article 35
Composition and functioning of the European Critical Raw Materials Board

1.

The Board shall be composed of representatives from all Member States and theCommission. It shall be chaired by the Commission.

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2.

Each Member State shall appoint a high-level representative to the Board. Where relevant
as regards the function and expertise, a Member State may appoint different
representatives in relation to different tasks of the Board. Each member of the Board shallhave an alternate. Only Member States shall have voting rights. Each Member State shallhave only one vote regardless the number of representatives.
The Chair shall invite representatives of the European Parliament to attend, as
observers, its meetings, including of the standing or temporary sub-groups referred to inparagraph 6.

1b.

Where appropriate, the Chair of the Board may invite representatives of industry,
especially small and medium sized enterprises, civil society, academia, trade unions,
local or regional authorities, third countries, overseas countries and territories, as well
as of the European Defence Agency, the European Chemical Agency, the European
Environmental Agency or the European External Action Service to attend meetings ofthe Board or its standing or temporary sub-groups referred to in paragraph 6 asobservers or to provide written contributions. Observers shall not participate in theformulation of advice of the Board and its sub-groups.

3.

At its first meeting the Board shall, on a proposal by the Commission, adopt its rules ofprocedure by a simple majority of its members.

4.

The Board shall meet at regular intervals in order to allow the effective performance of its
tasks specified in this Regulation. Where necessary, the Board shall meet at the reasoned
request of the Commission or of a Member State justifying a particular interest withregard to a Strategic Project on its territory warranting an additional meeting.
The Board shall meet at least:(a)every 3 months for the assessment of applications for Strategic Projects pursuant toChapter 3, Section 1;(b)every 6 months for the development of monitoring pursuant to Chapter 4;16127/23▌

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(c)

once a year in order to discuss the progress of the implementation of Member Stateobligations linked to exploration set out in Chapter 3, Section 4, including in light of
updates to the lists of critical or strategic raw materials.

5.

The Commission shall coordinate the work of the Board by means of an executive
secretariat that provides technical and logistical support.

5a.

The Board shall:(a)periodically discuss the implementation of Article 8 and share best-practices for
speeding up permitting procedure for critical raw material projects, as well as toimprove their public participation and consultation;(b)

where relevant, propose to the Commission guidelines for the implementation of
Article 8 paragraph 1 to be taken into account by points of single contact;(c)periodically discuss the implementation of the Strategic Projects and, where
necessary, measures that could be taken by the project promoter or the Member
State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project to further facilitate theimplementation of those Strategic Projects pursuant to Article 14;(c1) provide advice to the Commission on the assessment of the set up of the system
pursuant to Article 24;(d)16127/23▌

facilitate the exchange of best practices between Member States, on how to
improve their national programmes pursuant to Article 25.

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6.

The Board may establish standing or temporary sub-groups to deal with specific questions
and tasks.
The Board shall at least establish the following standing sub-groups:(a)a subgroup to discuss and coordinate financing for Strategic Projects pursuant to
Article 15; representatives of national promotional banks and institutions, export
credit agencies, the European development financial institutions, the European
Investment Bank Group, other international financial institutions including theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, as appropriate, private
financial institutions shall be invited as observers;(aa) a subgroup to discuss and exchange views on measures to increase publicknowledge on the critical raw materials supply chain and share best practices
concerning public participation and stakeholders involvement in critical raw
materials projects; for which representatives of civil society organisations shall be
regularly invited, as observers;(b)a subgroup bringing together national or, where relevant, regional geologicalinstitutes or surveys or, in the absence of such institute or survey, the relevant
national authority in charge of general exploration, with the purpose of contributing
to the coordination of national exploration programmes referred to in Article 18;(ba) a subgroup to discuss and exchange views on measures to promote circularity,
resource efficiency and substitution of critical raw materials;(c)16127/23▌

a subgroup bringing together national supply and information agencies covering
critical raw materials or, in the absence of such agency, the relevant national
authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing to the monitoringtasks as set out in Article 19;

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(d)

7.

a subgroup bringing together national emergency agency and national authorities
responsible for strategic stocks or, in the absence of such agency and authority, therelevant national authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing
to the coordination of strategic stocks as set out in Article 22.

▌▌
In performing its tasks, the Board shall, where appropriate, ensure coordination,
cooperation and information exchange with the relevant crisis response and crisis
preparedness structures established under Union law.

8.

The Board shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safe handling and processing ofconfidential and commercially sensitive information in accordance with Article 44.

9.

The Board shall use its best endeavours to reach consensus.
Article 35a
International cooperation and Strategic Partnerships

1.

The board shall periodically discuss:(a)16127/23▌

the extent to which Strategic Partnerships concluded by the Union contributetowards:(i)

improving the Union's security of supply including the benchmarks set out in
Article 4a point (b);(ii)

improving cooperation along the critical raw materials value chain between
the Union and partner countries, including capacity building and technology
transfer programs to promote circularity and responsible recycling of criticalraw materials in producing countries;

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(iii) the economic and social development of partner countries, including bypromoting sustainable and circular economy practices, decent working
conditions and respect for human rights along their raw material value
chains;(b)

the coherence and potential synergies between Member States’ bilateral
cooperation with relevant third countries and the actions carried out by the Union
in the context of Strategic Partnerships;(c)which third countries could be prioritised for the conclusion of StrategicPartnerships, taking into account the following criteria:(i)the potential contribution to security of supply as well as resilience thereof,
taking into account a third country's potential reserves, extraction,
processing and recycling capacities related to critical raw materials;(ii)

whether a cooperation between the Union and a third country could improvea third country's ability to ensure the monitoring, prevention andminimisation of adverse environmental impacts through its regulatory
framework and the implementation thereof, the use of socially responsible
practices including respect of human and labour rights, notably on forced
and child labour, meaningful engagement with local communities, including
indigenous peoples, the use of transparent and responsible businesspractices, the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of
public administration and the rule of law;(iii) whether there are existing cooperation agreements between a third country
and the Union and, for emerging markets and developing economies, thepotential for the deployment of Global Gateway investment projects,
including with a view to facilitating investment in Strategic Projects.

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(iv) for emerging markets and developing economies, whether and how apartnership could contribute to local value addition, including downstream
activities, and would be mutually beneficial for the partner country and theUnion.
(d)advice the Commission on how to ensure that the strategic partnerships referred toin the context of paragraph 1 are coherent with the Union’s policies with emerging
markets and developing economies.

2.

The provisions under paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the prerogatives of theCouncil in accordance with the Treaties.

3.

Member States:

3a.

(a)

shall inform the Commission on their bilateral cooperation with relevant third
countries, when its scope includes critical raw materials value chain;(b)

may support the Commission in the implementation of the cooperation measures
set out in Strategic Partnerships along the raw materials value chain.

Once a year, the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council on
the content and outcome of the discussion referred to in the precedent paragraphs.

Chapter 8
Delegated powers and committee procedure
Article 36
Exercise of the delegation
1.

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to theconditions laid down in this Article.

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2.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2),Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall be conferred on theCommission for a period of eight years from [OP please insert: one month after the date ofentry into force of this Regulation]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect ofthe delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the eight year period.
The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration ▌unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than threemonths before the end of each period.

3.

The delegation of power referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article
27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) may be revoked at any time by theEuropean Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to thedelegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following
the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later
date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each
Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. The consultation of Member States'
experts shall take place after the consultation pursuant to Article 14.

5.

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to theEuropean Parliament and to the Council.

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6.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12),Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall enter into force only if no objection has been
expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two monthsof notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before theexpiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed theCommission that they will not object. That period may be extended by two months at theinitiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 37
Committee procedure

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the implementation of [OP: please
insert reference to this act]. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning ofRegulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shallapply.

3.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shallapply.

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ENChapter 9
Amendments
Article 38
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/1724
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 is amended as follows:(1)

in Annex I, in the first column, a new row ‘S. Critical raw materials projects’ is added.

(2)

in Annex I, in the second column, in the row ‘AJ. Critical raw materials projects’, thefollowing point are added:‘-1. the points of single contact referred to in Article 8 paragraph 1;

(3)

1.

information on the permit-granting process.’‘2.

information on financing and investment services’‘3.

information on funding possibilities at Union or Member State level’‘4.

information on business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax
declaration, local tax laws, labour law’in Annex II, in the first column, a new row ‘Critical raw materials projects’ is added.

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(4)

in Annex II, in the second column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, thefollowing points are added:‘Procedure related to all relevant ▌ permits to ▌ build and operate critical raw materials
projects, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and environmental
assessments and authorisations where these are required, and encompassing all ▌applications and procedures from the acknowledgment that the application is complete to
the notification of the comprehensive decision on the outcome of the procedure by the
responsible Point of single contact.’(5)

in Annex II, in the third column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, the following
point is added:‘All outputs pertaining to the procedures ranging from the acknowledgment of thecompleteness of the application to the notification of the comprehensive decision on theoutcome of the procedure by the Point of single contact.’(6)

in Annex III, the following point is added:‘(9) The Point of single contact referred to in Article 8(1) of [OP: please insert reference
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Article 39
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 is amended as follows:(1)

in Article 4(5), the text “(EU) 2016/425(35) and (EU) 2016/426(36)” is replaced by thefollowing: “(EU) 2016/425 (*), (EU) 2016/426 (**) and [(EU) […] [year of adoption ofthis Regulation]/…(***)];(2)in Annex I, the following point is added: ‘X [OP please insert the next consecutive
number] Regulation (EU)…/… establishing a framework for ensuring a secure andsustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 [OPplease insert the publication details of this Regulation], in so far as it concerns therequirements set out Articles 27, 28 or 30 of that Regulation.

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Article 40
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/858
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:‘[OP Please insert
the next
consecutive
number underheading G]

Permanent
magnetcircularity
requirements

Regulation (EU)XX/XXXX [OPplease insert: OJ
publication detailsof this Regulation]

X X X X X X

X X’
Article 41
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 168/2013
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 168/2013 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:‘[OP Please
insert thenextconsecutive
numberunderheading C1]

Permanent
magnetcircularity
requirements

Regulation(EU)
XX/XXXX[OP please
insert: OJ
publication
details of
thisRegulation]

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X’

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ENChapter 10
Final provisions
Article 42
Monitoring progress-1.

By [OP please insert: 18 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall present a report including indicative projections of the annual
consumption of each critical raw material in 2030, 2040 and 2050, including a low, ahigh and a reference projection, as well as indicative benchmarks for extraction andprocessing per strategic raw material with a view to meet the benchmarks set in Article
4a(a), for 2030.

1.

The Commission shall, taking into account the advice of the Board, monitor progress
towards the benchmarks set out in Article 4a(1), as well as the moderation of the
expected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials referred in Article
4a(2) and publish, at least every 3 years, a report detailing the Union’s progress towards
achieving those benchmarks and that moderation.
The first report shall be drawn up by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation].

2.

The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:-

quantitative information on the extent of the Union's progress towards thebenchmarks and the moderation set out in Article 4a;-a list of strategic partnerships concluded between the Union and third countries
covering raw materials, as well as

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-

an assessment of their contribution to the aim set out in Article 4a(1)(b).

For the purposes of this Article, economic operators shall not be required to submit
information in addition to the information provided pursuant to Article 20.
2b.

To ensure the coherent implementation of this Regulation, the Commission shallmonitor the consistency of its actions undertaken to implement it with other Union laws.
In addition, the Commission shall publish, within [OJ please insert: 1 year after the dateof entry into force of this Regulation], a report on the consistency of this Regulation withother Union law.

2a.

Where, based on the report referred to in Paragraph 1, the Commission concludes that
the Union is likely not to achieve the aims set out in Article 4a, it shall assess thefeasibility and proportionality of proposing measures in order to ensure the achievementof those aims.

2d.

The Commission shall request the European Standardisation organisations to develop
European standards or European standardisation deliverables to support the objectivesof this Regulation.
Article 43
Reporting of Member States

1.

Member States shall each year send a report to the Commission containing the informationreferred to in Article 18(4), Article 20(1) and (2), Article 21(1), Article 22(5) and Article
25(6). The first report shall be sent [OP please insert: two years after the date of entry into
force of this Regulation].
Economic operators shall not be required to submit information in addition to theinformation provided in the context of the provisions listed in sub-paragraph 1.

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2.

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts setting out a template for thereports referred to in paragraph 1. The template may indicate how the information referred
to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted inaccordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).

3.

The information contained in the reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall be treated inaccordance with Article 44.
Article 44
Treatment of confidential information

1.

Information acquired in the course of implementing this Regulation shall be used only forthe purposes of this Regulation and shall be protected by the relevant Union and national
legislation.

2.

Member States and the Commission shall ensure the protection of trade and businesssecrets and other sensitive, confidential and classified information acquired and generated
in application of this Regulation, including recommendations and measures to be taken, in
accordance with Union and the respective national law.

3.

Member States and the Commission shall ensure that classified information provided or
exchanged under this Regulation is not downgraded or declassified without the priorwritten consent of the originator in accordance with relevant national or Union law.

4.

If a Member State assesses that the presentation of aggregated information in the context ofArticle 21 may nonetheless compromise its national security interest, it may object to theCommission’s presentation through a justified notice.

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5.

The Commission and the national authorities, their officials, employees and other persons
working under the supervision of these authorities shall ensure the confidentiality of
information obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities in accordance with relevant
national or Union law. This obligation also applies to all representatives of Member
States, observers, experts and other participants attending meetings of the Board pursuant
to Article 35.

5a.

The Commission shall provide for standardised and secure means for the collection,
processing and storage of the information acquired pursuant to this Regulation.

5b.

Any obligations on sharing information pursuant to this Regulation shall not apply todata that concerns the essential interests of the Member States' security or defence.
Article 45
Penalties

No later than 18 months after entry into force of the Regulation, Member States shall lay down
rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measuresnecessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective,
proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without delay, notify the Commission of thoserules and of those measures and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment
affecting them.
Article 46
Evaluation
1.

By [OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], theCommission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation in light of the objectives that it
pursues and shall present a report thereon to the European Parliament, to the Council andto the European Economic and Social Committee.

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2.

2a.

The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least assess:-the appropriateness of establishing maximum environmental footprint thresholds forcritical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules have been adopted
as well as the need to further strengthen the critical raw materials supply chains
after 2030;-

the consistency between the Union environmental legislation and this regulation,in particular in relation to the priority status of the strategic projects;-

the availability of information on waste volumes and strategic raw material content
for relevant waste streams;-

the appropriateness of establishing benchmarks targeting 2040 and 2050 on
aggregated level and per strategic raw material;-

the impact of the Joint purchasing system set up pursuant to Article 24 oncompetition in the internal market;-

the appropriateness of establishing further measures to increase the collection,sorting and processing of waste, in particular with a view to metal scraps,
including ferrous scraps.

Based on the report, the Commission shall present, where appropriate, relevant
legislative proposals.

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ENArticle 47
Entry into force
1

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publicationin the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.

Articles 40 and 41 shall apply from 5 years after the entry into force.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

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For the Council
The President

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ENAnnex I

STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALSSECTION 1
LIST OF STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALSThe following raw materials shall be considered strategic:(-a) Bauxite/Alumina/Aluminium(a)Bismuth(b)

Boron - metallurgy grade(c)

Cobalt(d)

Copper(e)

Gallium(f)Germanium(g)

Lithium - battery grade(h)Magnesium metal(i)Manganese - battery grade(j)▌ Graphite - battery grade(k)Nickel - battery grade(l)Platinum Group Metals(m) Rare Earth Elements for magnets (Nd, Pr, Tb, Dy, Gd, Sm, and Ce)(n)16127/23
Annex I

Silicon metal

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(o)

Titanium metal(p)Tungsten

SECTION 2
METHODOLOGY TO SELECT STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALS
1.

2.

The strategic importance shall be determined based on the relevance of a raw material forthe green and digital transition as well as defence and aerospace applications, according to
the following criteria:(a)the amount of strategic technologies using a raw material as an input;(b)

the amount of a raw material needed for manufacturing relevant strategic
technologies;(c)the expected global demand for relevant strategic technologies.

The forecasted demand growth (DF/C,τ) shall be calculated as follows:

where:DFτ is the global annual demand forecast for a raw material in year τ;GSτο is the global annual production of a raw material for a reference period, τ0.

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3.

The difficulty of increasing production shall be determined taking into account at least:(a)the current global annual production scale ▌ of a raw material;▌(b)

the reserves-production ratio ▌ of a raw material, based on known reserves of
economically extractable geological resources and current global annual
production;(c)lead-times for new projects increasing supply capacity, when reliable information
is available.

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ENAnnex II

CRITICAL RAW MATERIALSSECTION 1
LIST OF CRITICAL RAW MATERIALSThe following raw materials shall be considered critical:(a)Antimony(b)

Arsenic(c)

Bauxite/Alumina/Aluminium(d)

Baryte(e)Beryllium(f)

Bismuth

(g)

Boron

(h)

Cobalt(i)

Coking Coal(j)

Copper(k)

Feldspar(l)

Fluorspar(m) Gallium(n)Germanium(o)Hafnium

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(p)

Helium(q)

Heavy Rare Earth Elements(r)Light Rare Earth Elements(s)Lithium(t)

Magnesium(u)

Manganese(v)▌ Graphite(w) Nickel – battery grade(x)

Niobium(y)Phosphate rock(z)

Phosphorus(aa) Platinum Group Metals(bb) Scandium(cc) Silicon metal(dd) Strontium(ee) Tantalum(ff)

Titanium metal(gg) Tungsten

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(hh) Vanadium

SECTION 2
CALCULATION OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE AND SUPPLY RISK1.

The economic importance (EI) of the assessed raw material is calculated as follows:

where:s denotes the NACE (2-digit level) sectors of the economy;
As is the share of end use of the assessed raw material in a NACE (2-digit level) sector(using EU values when available, global shares otherwise);
Qs is the value added of the relevant sector at the NACE (2-digit level), as a share of thetotal economy;
SIEI is the substitution index related to economic importance.

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2.

The substitution index of the assessed raw material related to economic importance (SIEI)
is calculated, based on its most relevant industrial applications, as follows:

where:
i denotes an individual substitute material;a denotes an individual application of the raw material;
SPPi,a;EI is the Economic Importance performance parameter of each substitute material,i, compared to the assessed raw material, based on technical performance, including
functionality, and cost performance, for each application, a;
Sharea is the share of the raw materials in an end-use application;
Sub-_sharei,a is the sub-share of each substitute within each application.
3.

The supply risk (SR) of the assessed raw material is calculated as follows:

where:
GS denotes the global annual production of the assessed raw material ▌ ;EU_sourcing denotes the actual sourcing of the supply to the EU, i.e. EU domestic
production plus EU imports from extra-EU countries;

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across countries);
WGI is an index based on the scaled World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators(used as a proxy for country governance);
tc is the trade parameter adjusting WGI, which shall be determined taking into accountpotential export taxes (possibly mitigated by a trade agreement in force), physical export
quotas or export prohibitions imposed by a country, c.
▌
EoLRIR is the end-of-life recycling input rate, meaning the ratio of secondary material
inputs (recycled from old scrap) to all inputs of a raw material (primary and secondary);
SISR is the substitution index related to supply risk;
IR is import reliance.
4.

The import reliance, IR, of raw materials is calculated as follows:5.

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHIWGI) of the assessed raw material is calculated asfollows:

where:

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Sc is the share of country c in the ▌ supply (GS or EU_sourcing) of the assessed raw
material;
WGIc is an index based on the scaled World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators ofcountry c;tc is the trade parameter of a country adjusting the WGI, which shall be determined taking
into account potential export taxes (possibly mitigated by a trade agreement in force),
physical export quotas or export prohibitions imposed by a country, c.
6.

The substitution index of the assessed raw material related to supply risk (SISR) is
calculated as follows:

where:
i denotes an individual substitute material;a denotes an individual application of the candidate material;▌▌▌
SPPi;SR is the Supply Risk performance parameter of each substitute material, i, basedon its global production, criticality and economic significance (primary product, coproduct, by-product)
Sharea is the share of the candidate materials in an end-use application;

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ENSub_sharei,a is the sub-share of each substitute within each application.
7.

Where structural or statistical changes affect the measurement of economic importance andsupply risk horizontally for all assessed materials, the corresponding values shall becorrected to offset such changes.
The calculations of the formulas in this section shall be based on an average of the last 5
years for which data is available. The priority, quality and availability of data shall betaken into account.

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ENAnnex III

ASSESSMENT OF THE RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR STRATEGIC PROJECTS
1.

Whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (a)shall be assessed taking into account:(a)whether the project contributes towards the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), point
(a);

(b)

whether the project contributes to maintaining or strengthening Union capacities as ashare of the Union's annual consumption of strategic raw material, taking into
account the expected increase in Union consumption;(bb) whether the project contributes to strengthening Union capacity to produce
innovative raw materials able to substitute strategic raw material in one or morestrategic technologies, while taking measures to achieve an equal or lower
environmental footprint compared to the strategic raw material that is substituted.
A project's contribution to the relevant capacity benchmark shall be assessed taking into
account the project's business plan and supporting technical information included in theapplication and the project's estimated time-to-market.
2.

Whether a project in a third country, or OCTs, fulfils the criterion referred to in Article
5(1), point (a) shall be assessed taking into account:(a)

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whether the project contributes to the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), point (b) orcontributes to maintaining the resilience of the Union's supply of strategic raw
materials;

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(b)

whether the applicable legal framework or other conditions provide assurance that
trade and investment related to the project will not be distorted, taking into accountnotably whether the Union has concluded a Strategic Partnership referred to in
Article 33 or a trade agreement containing a chapter on raw materials with therelevant third country, or OCTs, and is consistent with the Union’s common
commercial policy;(c)the extent to which there are companies that have or are willing to conclude off-takeagreements with the project promoter with a view to using or processing the strategic
raw materials produced by the relevant projects in the Union;(d)whether the project is in line with the Union’s development cooperation and foreign
policy objectives.

A project's contribution to the benchmarks referred to in point (a) shall be assessed taking
into account the project's business plan and supporting technical information included in
the application, the project's estimated time-to-market as well as the share of the project's
output that is covered by existing or potential off-take agreements referred to in point (c).
Evidence related to point (c) may include contractual agreements, letters of intent or
memoranda of understanding.
3.

Whether a project fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (b), shall be assessedtaking into account:(a)the quality of the feasibility studies performed on the potential of development of the
project;(b)whether the technology intended to be used has been demonstrated in the relevant
environment.

The feasibility studies referred to in point (a) shall be designed to:(a)16127/23
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technological and environmental considerations;

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(b)

identify potential technical issues and problems that could arise while pursuing the
project.

Further studies may be required to confirm the feasibility of the project.
4.

Whether projects located in the Union fulfil the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(c), shall be assessed taking into account an overall assessment of a project’s compliancewith relevant Union or national legislation as well as relevant supplementary evidence,taking into account the location of the project.
Whether projects in third countries fulfil the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(c), shall be assessed taking into account compliance with the following international
instruments and applicable national legislation where it provides sufficient assurance ofcompliance with the criterion or aspects of it:▌▌(c)

ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises andSocial Policy;(d)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, in particular theguidelines related to combatting corruption;(e)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from
Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas;(f)OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the
Extractive Sector, including where referring to the principles set out in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;(g)OECD Principles of Corporate Governance;(h)OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct;(i)

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

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(ib) IFC Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement;
Project promoters may also attest compliance with the criterion referred to in Article 5(1),point (c) by:

5.

6.

(a)

providing evidence that the project concerned is individually certified by one ormore schemes recognised according to Article 29(2) that jointly cover all
requirements listed in Annex IV point (b) ; or(b)committing to obtain certification for the project concerned as part of by one or more
schemes recognised according to Article 29(2) that jointly cover all requirements
listed in Annex IV point (b) , and providing sufficient evidence that when
implemented the project concerned will be able to meet the criteria for suchcertification.

Whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (d),shall be assessed taking into account:(a)whether companies from different Member States participate in the project;(b)

whether potential off-takers are located also in more than one Member State;(c)effects on the availability of strategic raw materials for downstream users in morethan one Member State.

Whether a project in a third country fulfils the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point(e), shall be assessed taking into account the extent to which the project contributes, in therelevant third country:(a)to strengthening more than one stage of the raw materials value chain in that country
or its wider region;(b)

to fostering private investment in the domestic raw materials value chain;(c)to the creation of wider economic or social benefits, including the creation of
employment.

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ENAnnex IV

CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
A recognised certification scheme shall meet the following criteria:(a)

it is open under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms to all economic operators
willing and able to comply with the scheme’s requirements and it is of multi-stakeholder
governance;(b)

the requirements for certification shall include at least:(i)

requirements ensuring environmentally sustainable practices, including requirements
ensuring environmental management and impact mitigation in the following
environmental risk categories:(ia) air, including air pollution such as greenhouse gas emissions;(ib) water, including seabed and marine environment, and water pollution, water use,water quantities (flooding or droughts) and access to water;(ic) soil, including soil pollution, soil erosion, land use and land degradation;(id) biodiversity, including damage to habitats, wildlife, flora and ecosystems, including
ecosystem services;(ie) hazardous substances;(if)

noise and vibration;(ig) plant safety;(ih) energy use;(ii)

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waste and residues;

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(ii)

requirements for ensuring socially responsible practices, including respect for humanrights and labour rights including the community life of indigenous peoples;(iii) requirements for ensuring business integrity and transparency including requirements
to apply sound management of financial, environmental and social matters and anticorruption and anti-bribery policies;(c)verification and monitoring of compliance is objective, based on international, Union or
national standards, requirements and procedures and carried out independently from therelevant economic operator;(d)

it includes sufficient requirements and procedures to ensure the competence andindependence of responsible verifiers.

(da)it includes requirements to ensure an audit-report established at the site level.

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ENAnnex V

ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTPart I
Definitions
For the purposes of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:(a)‘Activity data’ means the information associated with processes while modelling Life
Cycle Inventories (LCI). The aggregated LCI results of the process chains that represent
the activities of a process are each multiplied by the corresponding activity data and then
combined to derive the environmental footprint associated with that process;(b)‘Bill of materials’ means list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies,
sub-components, parts and the quantities of each needed to manufacture the product inscope of the study;(c)‘Company-specific data’ refers to directly measured or collected data from one or multiple
facilities (site-specific data) that are representative for the activities of the company. It issynonymous to “primary data”;(d)'Impact assessment method' means the protocol for quantitative translation of life cycle
inventory data into contributions to an environmental impact of concern;(e)'Impact category' means a class of resource use or environmental impact to which the life
cycle inventory data are related;(f)‘Life cycle’ means the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw
material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal (ISO14040:2006);

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(g)

‘Life cycle inventory (LCI)’ means the combined set of exchanges of elementary, waste
and product flows in a LCI dataset;(h)‘Life cycle inventory (LCI) dataset’ means a document or file with life cycle informationof a specified product or other reference (e.g., site, process), covering descriptive metadataand quantitative life cycle inventory. A LCI dataset could be a unit process dataset,partially aggregated or an aggregated dataset;(i)‘Secondary data’ means data not from a specific process within the supply-chain of thecompany performing an environmental footprint study. This refers to data that is notdirectly collected, measured, or estimated by the company, but sourced from a third party
LCI database or other sources. Secondary data includes industry average data (e.g., frompublished production data, government statistics, and industry associations), literaturestudies, engineering studies and patents, and may also be based on financial data, andcontain proxy data, and other generic data. Primary data that go through a horizontal
aggregation step are considered as secondary data;(j)‘System boundary’ means the aspects included or excluded from the life cycle study.

Additionally, the calculation rules for the environmental footprint of a critical raw material shall
include any further definition necessary for their interpretation.

Part II
Scope
This Annex provides essential elements on how to calculate the environmental footprint of criticalraw materials.

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The calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw materials shall build on
the essential elements included in this Annex, taking into account scientifically sound assessment
methods and relevant international standards in the area of life cycle assessment.
The calculation of the environmental footprint of a critical raw material shall be based on the bill ofmaterial, the energy, production methods, and auxiliary materials used at the facilities involved on
the production of critical raw material.
When establishing calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw
materials, the Commission shall aim to ensure consistency with calculation rules for theenvironmental footprint of intermediate and final products making use of the relevant critical raw
materials.

Part III
Declared unit
The declared unit shall be 1 kg of the relevant critical raw material type.
The calculation rules for the environmental footprint of specific critical raw materials may specify ahigher of lower declared unit, expressed in kg, where necessary to take into account the nature or
use of the relevant critical raw material.
All quantitative input and output data collected by the manufacturer to quantify the carbon footprint
shall be calculated in relation to this declared unit.

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Part IV
System boundary
Extraction, concentration and refining are the three life cycle stages to be included in the systemboundary of primary critical raw materials with the following processes (when relevant to thespecific raw material):(a)

Upstream processes including the extraction of ore for raw material production, production
and supply (including transport) of chemicals, auxiliaries, production and supply(including transport) of fuels, production and supply of electricity, and transport ofmaterials in vehicles not owned or operated by the organisation;(b)Transport of ore, concentrates and raw materials in vehicles owned or operated by theorganisation;(c)Storage of ore, concentrates and raw materials;(d)

Ore crushing and cleaning;(e)

Raw material concentrate production;(f)

Metal extraction (by chemical, physical of biological means);(g)Smelting;(h)

Metal conversion;(i)

Slag cleaning;(j)

Metal refining;(k)

Metal electrolysis;(l)

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(m)

Spent material and slag treatment;(n)

All related auxiliary processes such as waste water treatment (on site, including fortreatment of process waters, direct cooling, water and surface run off water), gas abatement
systems (including for primary and secondary off gases, boilers (including pre-treatment offeed water), internal logistics.

In the system boundary of secondary critical raw materials (defining the recycling life cycle stage),the following processes (when relevant to the specific recycled raw material) shall be included:(a)

Upstream processes including the generation of raw feed material (scrap materials andvirgin copper concentrates, the production and supply (transport) of chemicals, auxiliaries,
production and supply (transport) of fuels, the production and supply of electricity, and thetransport of materials in vehicles not owned by the organisation;(b)Transport of concentrates and scraps in vehicles owned or operated by the organisation;(c)Storage of scraps, concentrates and raw materials;(d)Secondary material pre-treatment;(e)Smelting;(f)

Metal conversion;(g)

Metal refining;(h)

Metal electrolysis;(i)

Metal casting or packaging;(j)

Spent material treatment;

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(k)

All related auxiliary processes such as waste water treatment (on site, including fortreatment of process waters, direct cooling, water and surface run off water), gas abatement
systems (including for primary and secondary off gases, boilers (including pre-treatment offeed water), and internal logistics.

The use phase or end-of-life phase shall be excluded from the environmental footprint calculations,
as it is not under the direct influence of the responsible economic operator. Other processes may be
excluded where their contribution to the environmental footprint of a specific critical raw material isinsignificant.

Part V
Impact categories
The calculation rules shall specify the impact categories that need to be included in theenvironmental footprint calculation. The choice shall be based on the hotspot analysis performed inline with scientifically sound methodologies developed at international level and taking into account
the:
(a)

relative importance of different impacts, including their relative importance for meeting
Union climate and environmental objectives;(b)needs of downstream companies wishing to communicate on the environmental footprintof the critical raw materials they use.

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Part VI
Use of company specific and secondary datasets
The calculation rules shall specify the use of company specific or secondary datasets for all relevant
processes and materials. If calculation rules allow for the choice between a company specificdataset and a secondary dataset, the Commission shall consider incentivising the use thecompany specific dataset.
The use of company-specific data shall be required at least for the processes under the direct
influence of the responsible operator and have the largest contribution to the relevant impact
categories.
The company specific activity data shall be used in combination with the relevant Environmental
Footprint compliant secondary datasets. The calculation rules should specify whether sampling isallowed, in line with the criteria set out in scientifically sound methodologies developed atinternational level.
A change in the bill of materials or energy mix used to produce a critical raw material type requires
a new calculation of the environmental footprint.
When setting calculation rules, including for the greenhouse gas emissions generated by theelectricity used for the production of critical raw materials, the Commission shall ensure
consistency with other relevant Union legislation and alignment with that legislation, unlessjustified.
The calculation rules to be elaborated via a delegated act shall include detailed modelling of thefollowing lifecycle stages:(a)Primary raw material extraction, concentration and refining stage;16127/23
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(b)

Secondary raw material acquisition and processing stage.

Part VII
Impact assessment methods
The environmental footprint shall be calculated using scientifically sound impact assessment
methods which take into account developments on the international level for relevant impact
categories related to climate change, water, air, soil, resources, land use and toxicity.
The results shall be provided as characterised results (without normalisation and weighting).

Part VIII
Environmental footprint performance classes
Depending on the distribution of the values of the environmental footprint declarations placed on
the internal market, a meaningful number of classes of performance shall be identified, withcategory A being the best class with the lowest life cycle impact, to allow for market differentiation.
The identification of the threshold for each class of performance, as well as their width, will bebased on the distribution of performances of the relevant critical raw materials placed on the market
in the previous 3 years, the expected technological improvements, and other technical factors to be
identified.

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The Commission shall review the number of performance classes and the thresholds between themevery 3 years in order to keep them representative of the market reality and its expecteddevelopment.

Part IX
Conformity assessment
The calculation and verification rules shall specify the applicable conformity assessment procedurefrom among the modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC, with the adaptations
necessary in view of the material concerned.
When specifying the applicable conformity assessment procedure, the Commission shall consider
the following criteria:(a)whether the module concerned is appropriate to the type of material and proportionate to
the public interest pursued;(b)the nature of the risks entailed by the product and the extent to which conformity
assessment corresponds to the type and degree of risk;(c)where third party involvement is mandatory, the need for the manufacturer to have a
choice between quality assurance and product certification modules set out in Annex II of
Decision No 768/2008/EC.

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▌
▌
_______________________

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