8 Raw materials initiative
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important
|
| Committee's decision
| Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details
| Communication on the Raw Materials Initiative and critical raw materials
|
| Legal base
| — |
| Department
| Business, Innovation and Skills
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
8.1 In November 2008, the Commission
introduced a "Raw materials initiative", aimed at ensuring
a sustainable supply of those materials of significant economic
importance for key sectors, with a high level of import dependence
and concentration of supply in particular countries, and a current
lack of substitutes. A further Communication in 2011 formally
adopted a list of 14 critical raw materials, but the Commission
also said that it would continue to monitor the situation, and
update the list every three years.
8.2 In the current document, the Commission
has presented a new list of critical raw materials and a brief
overview of forthcoming activities related to the Raw Materials
Initiative, the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials
and the relevant part of Horizon 2020, whilst an accompanying
Staff Working Document summarises the work done over the last
year under the three pillars of the Raw Materials Initiative.
In particular, the Commission has proposed a list of 20 critical
raw materials, comprising (with one exception) all those currently
on the list, and including six new materials. It also suggests
that significant progress has been made in the implementation
of the first and third pillars of the Raw Materials Initiative,
and that the key priority should now be the further development
of the second pillar, particularly as regards improvements to
the EU knowledge base.
8.3 Although the contents of this
Communication are uncontentious, it deals with an important subject.
Consequently, in clearing it, we think it right to draw it to
the attention of the House.
Full details of the
documents: Commission Communication
on the review of the critical list of raw materials for the EU
and the implementation of the Raw Materials Initiative: (36064),
10457/14 + ADD 1, COM(14) 297.
Background
8.4 As the exploitation and extraction
within the EU of many raw materials faced increased competition
from other land uses, at a time when imports of important raw
materials on which it was highly dependent were increasingly affected
by market distortions, the Commission produced in November 2008[15]
its so-called "Raw materials initiative", aimed at those
materials of significant economic importance for key sectors,
with a high level of import dependence and concentration of supply
in particular countries,[16]
and a current lack of substitutes. This proposed the adoption
of an integrated EU strategy, based on three pillars — ensuring
a fair and sustainable supply of raw materials from global markets,
ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials within the EU,
and boosting resource efficiency and increasing the amount of
recycling. A further Communication[17]
in 2011 formally adopted a list of 14 critical raw materials —
antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, indium,
magnesium, natural graphite, niobium, platinum group metals (palladium,
platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium), rare earth
elements, tantalum and tungsten — but the Commission also
said that it would continue to monitor the situation, and update
the list every three years.
The current document
8.5 In the current document, the Commission
has presented a new list of critical raw materials and a brief
overview of forthcoming activities related to the Raw Materials
Initiative, the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials
and the relevant part of Horizon 2020, whilst an accompanying
Staff Working Document summarises the work done over the last
year under the three pillars of the Raw Materials Initiative.
8.6 After analysing 54 materials, the
Commission has proposed a list of 20, which (with the exception
of tantalum) comprises those currently on the list, separates
the rare earths into two groups ("heavy" and "light"),
and includes six new materials (borates, chromium, coking coal,
magnesite, phosphate rock and silicon metal).
8.7 As regards the Raw Materials Initiative,
the Commission suggests that significant progress has been made
in its implementation, particularly the first and third pillars,
and that the European Innovation Partnership and Horizon 2020
programme are expected to drive future progress. It therefore
proposes the further development of the second pillar should now
be the key priority, particularly improvements to the EU knowledge
base.
The Government's view
8.8 In his Explanatory Memorandum of
17 June 2014, the Minister of State for Business and Energy (Michael
Fallon) says that the document has no immediate policy implications,
noting that the UK has been broadly supportive of the Raw Materials
Initiative, of the Commission's strategy on Commodity Markets
and Raw Materials, and of various other related policy initiatives
and activities. He comments that the Raw Materials Initiative
positively seeks to remove practices such as export restrictions
from the global market, in line with the EU and UK approach to
trade policy, and that the UK's own Resource Security Action Plan
of March 2012 recognised the importance of a wide range of renewable
and non-renewable resources, provided a framework for business
action to address resource risks, and set out high level actions
to build on the partnership between business and Government to
tackle these. He also says that the amendments now proposed to
the EU's 2010 critical raw materials list do not call for any
significant changes in the approach set out in the Plan.
Previous Committee Reports
None.
15 (30202) 16053/08: see Second Report HC 19-ii (2008-09),
chapter 14 (17 December 2008). Back
16
Notably those which do not have a market-based system, or which
are politically or economically unstable. Back
17
(32491) 5992/11: see Twentieth Report HC 428-xviii (2010-12),
chapter 7 (2 March 2011). Back
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