9 Amendments of María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS related to 2023/0079(COD)
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) In order to diversify the Union's supply of strategic raw materials, the Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in third countries that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials. To ensure that such Strategic Projects are with reduced complexity, increased efficiency and could be effectively implemented, they should benefit from improved access to finance and de-risking mechanisms for investments. 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 contribute to the strengthening of the Union's security of supply for strategic raw materials, show sufficient technical feasibility and be implemented sustainably using the framework of a sustainability certification scheme on raw materials recognised by the Commission. 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 the Union’s common commercial policy, considering the specific economic strengths and interests of the EU and the EU’s partners. If needed, the EU will support third countries in reinforcing their legal framework, good governance models, for building institutional, professional and technological capacity and transparency in the raw materials sector with the aim of making the raw material partnership a win-win situation. A project should add value in that country, enabling it to move upwards the value chain while taking into account also its consistency with the Union’s common commercial policy as well as the principle of Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) as laid down in Article 208 TFEU. Such value may be derived from the project’s contribution to more than onone or more stages of the raw materials value chain as well as from creating through the project wider economic growth and social benefits, including the creation of employment in compliance with international standards. Where the Commission assesses these criteria to be fulfilled, it should publish the recognition as a Strategic Project in a decision.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) In order to ensure the sustainability performance of increased raw material production, new raw materials projects should be implemented sustainably. To that end, the Strategic Projects receiving support under this Regulation should be assessed taking into account international instruments and standards covering all aspects of sustainability highlighted in the EU principles for sustainable raw materials 31, including ensuring environmental protection, socially responsible practices, including respect for human rights such as the rights of women, and children, as well astransparent business practices. Projects should also ensure engagement in good faith as well as comprehensive and meaningful consultations with local communities, including with indigenous peoples. To provide project promoters with a clear and efficient way of complying with this criterion, compliance with relevant Union legislation, international standards, guidelines and principles or participation in an environmentalcertification scheme recognised under this Regulation should alwaysbe considered sufficient. _________________ 31 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
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Land use conflicts can create barriers to the deployment of critical raw material projects. Well-designTailored 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, with active publicly executed risk monitoring, have the potential to help balance public goods and interests, decreasing the risk of conflict and accelerating the sustainable deployment of raw materials projects in the Union and in third countries. Responsible national, regional and local authorities should therefore consider including specific provisions for raw materials projects when developing relevant plans at multiple levels, with the aim to create significant economic opportunities, tangible benefits for local communities and fostering public acceptance.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(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 as well as examine the need for developing new instruments to facilitate investments in the high-risk raw material sector, which could give certainty and clarity of the financial support in terms of amounts and timing. 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 should in particular take into account the Global Gateway strategy42. including emerging markets and developing countries, the Commission and the Board, together with its partners, should make raw materials projects a priority under the Global Gateway strategy42, which consolidates development finance to support the EU’s partner countries in increasing their resilience and sustainable development, as well as to help the achievement of the shared goals of the Paris Agreement, Agenda 2030, the Green Deal and sustainable blue economy. _________________ 42 Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank The Global Gateway (JOIN/2021/30 final).
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54
Recital 54
(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 and lead to the establishment of concrete (strategic) projects. To develop and ensure a coherent framework for the conclusion of future partnerships and with the aim of developing a common European raw materials diplomacy in line with the Union’s energy and climate diplomacy, the Member States and the Commission should, as part of their interaction on the Board, discuss and ensure coordination on, inter alia, whether existing partnerships achieve the intended aims, and if measures that practically address with long-term perspective local communities’ inputs, regarding specific problems of preservation of ecosystems, resources efficiency and waste reduction are identified; as well as the prioritisation of third countries for new partnerships, the content of such partnerships and their coherence and potential synergies between Member States' bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries. 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, among which an enhanced collaboration between the EU's and partner countries' SMEs and locally based businesses, combining the expertise of different like-minded partners to create a pathway to sound entrepreneurship in the raw materials sector .
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54 a (new)
Recital 54 a (new)
(54a) An integral part of the common European raw materials policy, as well as its energy and climate diplomacy, is to explain to our partners the Union’s requirements regarding sustainability, circularity and technological innovation of products and raw materials, like for example the environmental footprint in this regulation. The common European raw materials diplomacy should be conducted in close cooperation with reliable partners, business as well as European and International Financial Institutions and make use of or create international fora for better coordination and more transparency in the global raw material markets as well as platforms for joint purchase.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
(ii) whether a third country's regulatory frameworkcooperation between the Union and a third country could improve a third country’s ability to ensures the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour rights and meaningful engagement with local communities, the use of transparent business practices and the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration and the rule of law;
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iii
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iii
(iii) whether there are existing cooperation agreements between a third country and the Union and, for emerging markets and developing economies, the potential for the deployment of Global Gateway investment projects contributing to partner countries’ exploration of resources as well as to the development of own extraction, processing and recycling capacities that reflect the Union’s evolving capabilities, and supporting educational programmes and training of the labour force aimed at strengthening the pertinence of CRM-related skills and expertise by ensuring they are up-to-date with the latest digital and technical innovations.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iv
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iv
(iv) for emerging markets and developing economies, whether and how a partnership could contribute to local value additiondevelop in- country value creation as well as local value addition, including downstream activities, and would be mutually beneficial for the partner country and the Union.