Memo: Reducing the EU’s dependency on raw materials: European Innovation Partnership launched

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, launched 12 February 2013, together with his colleagues Maire Geoghegan Quinn European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, and Janez Potočnik European Commissioner for the Environment, the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials, bringing together Member States and other stakeholders to help make Europe a world leader in raw materials exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution by 2020.

To this end, the Commission proposes concrete targets to be achieved by 2020 to reduce Europe's dependency on imported raw materials, to replace rare materials with substitutes and to set up innovative pilot actions, e.g. pilot plants for exploration, mining, processing, collecting and recycling.

Raw materials are the lifeblood of EU industry: at least 30 million jobs in the EU depend upon access to them. But much of Europe’s industry is heavily dependent on international markets to secure the raw materials it requires. To turn this trend and to reduce cost for raw materials, this initiative is part of the European Commission industry strategy launched in autumn 2012 to make Europe an attractive place for industry investment.