Raw materials are crucial to Europe's economy, and sustainable access to these materials is key for net zero objectives.

However, Europe relies heavily on imports, mostly from third-country suppliers. It needs to mitigate supply chain risk arising from this strategic dependency in order to enhance its economic resilience.

In March 2023, the European Commission proposed a set of actions to ensure that the EU has access to a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). The Critical Raw Materials Act and the associated Net Zero Industry Act stress the urgent need to improve supply conditions for CRMs and acknowledge the role of the circular economy in supplementing increased supply from secure sources.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Critical Raw Materials is holding this #EUCircularTalks to highlight opportunities to improve existing life cycles for products containing CRMs.

The expert panel will discuss the importance of de-risking the supply of CRMs and improving sustainable use of them across value chains. It will shed light on the currently poor life cycle management of many products that rely on CRMs. Frontrunner companies will showcase their good practices, experience and know-how.

Join us and explore how EU policy can scale up improvement opportunities and overcome the obstacles to creating a more circular economy for products reliant upon CRMs.

Programme

Moderator: Ignacio Calleja

Opening remarks:

• Michal Pintér, EESC representative
• Maria Nyberg, European Commission (presentation)

Panel discussion

• Cecilia Mattea, Batteries and Supply Chain Policy Manager at Transport & Environment (presentation)
• Rikarnto Bountis,Technical Advisor at EuRIC (presentation)
• Pascal Leroy, WEEE FORUM Director (presentation)
• Dave Peck, European Remanufacturing Council and TU Delft representative (presentation)

Q&A

Conclusion by the moderator