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PRESS
RELEASE
Brussels,
2nd February 2011:
Euromines
welcomes the issuing of the new EU’s Communication
on “Tackling the challenges in commodity markets
and on raw materials”.
In particular the sector welcomes the acknowledgement
of the importance of raw materials for the growth of
the European economy.
“At the heart of current developments lies
a series of changes in global supply and demand patters
as well as short term shocks in key commodity and raw
material markets. The years 2002 to 2008 were marked
by a major surge in demand for raw materials, driven
by strong economic growth, particularly in emerging
countries such as China. This increase in demand will
be reinforced by the further rapid industrialisation
and urbanisation in countries such as China, India and
Brazil. China is already the largest consumer of metals
in the world – its share of copper consumption,
for example, has risen from 12% to about 40% over the
last 10 years. Prices movements have been exacerbated
by various structural problems in the supply and distribution
chains of different commodities.”
The extractive sector has been very supportive of the
work conducted so far and welcomes the proposals made
by the Commission in its Communication with regard to
- assessing future market demands in Europe and worldwide;
- improving the access from European resources through
the proposed actions jointly with the Member States
to increase the availability and supply of raw materials
to Europe to secure the viability and growth of the
European economy;
- assessing the criticality of raw materials and
the need to review the list of these raw materials
every 5 years;
- fostering research and innovation through creation
of a European Innovation Partnership and supporting
the research in the area of raw material exploration,
processing and recovery and recycling.
The Europe 2020 Strategy underlines the need to promote
technologies that increase investment in the EU’s
natural assets. Extractive industries fall under this
category, but its development is hindered by a heavy
regulatory framework and competition with other land
uses.
The Commission considers that the following practices
are particularly important in promoting investments
in extractive industries:
- defining a National Minerals Policy, to ensure
that mineral resources are exploited in an economically
viable way, harmonised with other national policies,
based on sustainable development principles and including
a commitment to provide an appropriate legal and information
framework;
- setting up a land use planning policy for minerals
that comprises a digital geological knowledge base,
a transparent methodology for identifying mineral
resources, long term estimates for regional and local
demand and identifying and safeguarding mineral resources
(taking into account other land uses);
- putting in place a process to authorise minerals
exploitation and extraction which is clear, understandable,
provides certainty and helps to streamline the administrative
process (e.g. the introduction of lead times, permit
applications in parallel, and one-stop-shop).
While significant progress has been made in implementing
the RMI, further improvements are necessary. An integrated
approach based on the three pillars is essential, as
each contributes to the objective of ensuring a fair
and sustainable supply of raw materials to the EU. The
European extractive sector will continue to support
the Commission’s initiative and is welcoming the
Member States’ active involvement in tackling
the challenges outlined.
Press Release:
The Commission calls for action on commodities and raw
materials
Communication
from the Commission to the Council and the European
Parliament “Tackling the challenges in commodity
markets and on raw materials”
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