Legal provisions of COM(2023)160 - Framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2023)160 - Framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)160 |
| date | April 11, 2024 |
Chapter 1
General provisions
Article 1
Subject matter and objectives
1. The general objective of this Regulation is to improve the functioning of the internal market by establishing a framework to ensure the Union's access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
2. To achieve the general objective referred to in paragraph 1, this Regulation aims to:
(a) strengthen the different stages of the strategic raw materials value chain with a view to ensure that, by 2030, Union capacities for each strategic raw material have significantly increased so that, overall, Union capacity approaches or reaches the following benchmarks:
(i) Union extraction capacity is able to extract the ores, minerals or concentrates needed to produce at least 10% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic raw materials, to the extent that the Union’s reserves allow for this;
(ii) Union processing capacity, including for all intermediate processing steps, is able to produce at least 40% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic raw materials;
(iii) Union recycling capacity, including for all intermediate recycling steps, is able to produce at least 15% of the Union's annual consumption of strategic raw materials.
(b) diversify the Union's imports of strategic raw materials with a view to ensure that, by 2030, the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any relevant stage of processing can rely on imports from several third countries, none of which provide more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption;
(c) improve the Union's ability to monitor and mitigate the supply risk related to critical raw materials;
(d) ensure the free movement of critical raw materials and products containing critical raw materials placed on the Union market while ensuring a high level of environmental protection, by improving their circularity and sustainability.
3. Where, based on the report referred to in Article 42, the Commission concludes that the Union is likely not to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2, it shall assess the feasibility and proportionality of proposing measures or exercising its powers at Union level in order to ensure the achievement of those objectives.
4. The Commission shall take into account the objectives and benchmarks laid down in paragraph 2, point a(iii), as related Union priorities within the meaning of Article 5(4)(a)(i) of Regulation XX/XXXX [OP please insert: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation], when preparing ecodesign requirements to improve the following product aspects: durability, reusability, reparability, resource use or resource efficiency, possibility of remanufacturing and recycling, recycled content and possibility of recovery of materials.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) ‘raw material’ means a substance in processed or unprocessed state used as an input for the manufacturing of intermediate or final products, excluding substances predominantly used as food, feed or combustion fuel;
(2) ‘critical raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 4;
(3) ‘strategic raw materials’ means the raw materials as defined in Article 3;
(4) ‘raw materials value chain’ means all activities and processes involved in the exploration, extraction, processing and recycling of raw materials;
(5) ‘exploration’ means all activities aimed at identifying and establishing the properties of mineral occurrences;
(6) ‘extraction’ means the primary extraction of ores, minerals and plant products from their original source, including from a mineral occurrence underground, mineral occurrence under water, sea brine and trees;
(7) ‘Union extraction capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production volumes of extractive operations for ores, minerals, plant products and concentrates containing strategic raw materials, including processing operations that are typically located at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;
(8) ‘reserves’ means all mineral occurrences that are economically viable to extract;
(9) ‘processing’ means all physical, chemical and biological processes involved in the transformation of a raw material from ores, minerals, plant products or waste into pure metals, alloys or other economically usable forms;
(10) ‘Union processing capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production volumes of processing operations for strategic raw materials, excluding such operations that are typically located at or near the extraction site, located in the Union;
(11) ‘recycling’ means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes;
(12) ‘Union recycling capacity’ means an aggregate of the maximum annual production volume of recycling operations for strategic raw materials, including the sorting and pre-treatment of waste and its processing into secondary raw materials, located in the Union;
(13) ‘annual consumption of strategic raw materials’ means an aggregate of the amount of strategic raw materials consumed by undertakings established in the Union in processed form, excluding strategic raw materials incorporated in intermediate or final products placed on the Union market;
(14) ‘supply risk’ means supply risk as calculated in line with Annex II;
(15) ‘raw material project’ means any planned facility or planned significant extension or repurposing of an existing facility active in extraction, processing or recycling of raw materials;
(16) ‘off-taker’ means an undertaking that has entered into an off-take agreement with a project promoter;
(17) ‘off-take agreement’ means any contractual agreement between an undertaking and a project promoter containing either a commitment on part of the undertaking to procure a share of the raw materials produced by a specific raw material project over a certain period of time or a commitment on part of the project promoter to provide the undertaking with the option to do so;
(18) ‘project promoter’ means any undertaking or consortium of undertakings developing a raw material project;
(19) ‘permit granting process’ means a process covering all relevant administrative permits to plan, build and operate the Strategic Projects referred to in Article 5, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and environmental assessments and authorisations where these are required, and encompassing all administrative applications and procedures from the acknowledgment of the validity of the application to the notification of the comprehensive decision on the outcome of the procedure by the responsible national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1);
(20) ‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken by Member State authorities not including courts or tribunals that determines whether or not a project promoter is authorised to implement a raw material project, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative appeal procedure;
(21) ‘general exploration’ means exploration at national or regional level, not including targeted exploration;
(22) ‘targeted exploration’ means the detailed investigation of an individual mineral occurrence;
(23) ‘deep ore deposits’ means mineral occurrences that are located deeper in the Earth’s crust than conventionally exploited ore occurrences;
(24) ‘predictive map’ means a map indicating areas that are likely to contain mineral occurrences of a given raw material;
(25) ‘supply disruption’ means the unexpected significant decrease in the availability of a raw material or significant increase in the price of a raw material;
(26) ‘raw materials supply chain’ means all activities and processes of the raw materials value chain up to the point where a raw material is used as an input for the manufacturing of intermediate or final products;
(27) ‘mitigation strategies’ means the policies developed by an economic operator to limit the likelihood of a supply disruption to its supply chain or to mitigate the damages caused by such a disruption to its economic activity;
(28) ‘key market operators’ means producers involved in the extraction, processing or recycling of critical raw materials, traders and distributors of critical raw materials, and downstream companies consuming significant amounts of critical raw materials;
(29) ‘strategic stock’ means a quantity of a particular raw material in whichever form that is stored by a public or private operator with a view to releasing it in the event of a supply disruption;
(30) ‘large company’ means any company that had more than 500 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 150 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared;
(31) ‘strategic technologies’ means the technologies needed for the green and digital transitions as well as for defence and space applications;
(32) ‘board of directors’ means the administrative or supervisory body responsible for supervising the executive management of the company, or, if no such body exists, the person or persons performing equivalent functions;
(33) ‘collection’ means the gathering of waste, including the preliminary sorting and preliminary storage of waste for the purposes of transport to a waste treatment facility;
(34) ‘treatment’ means recovery or disposal operations, including preparation prior to recovery or disposal;
(35) ‘recovery’ means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy;
(36) ‘extractive waste’ means extractive waste within the meaning of Directive 2006/21/EC;
(37) ‘extractive waste facility’ means waste facility within the meaning of Directive 2006/21/EC;
(38) ‘preliminary economic assessment’ means an early-stage, conceptual assessment of the potential economic viability of a raw material project for the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste;
(39) ‘magnetic resonance imaging device’ means a non-invasive medical device that uses magnetic fields to make anatomical images or any other device that uses magnetic fields to make images of the inside of object;
(40) ‘wind energy generator’ means the part of an onshore or offshore wind turbine that converts the mechanical energy of the rotor into electrical energy;
(41) ‘industrial robot’ means an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can either be fixed or mobile for use in industrial automation applications;
(42) ‘motor vehicle’ means any type-approved vehicle of the M or N categories in the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/858;
(43) ‘light means of transport’ means any wheeled vehicle that can be powered by the electric motor alone or by a combination of motor and human power, including electric scooters, electric bicycles and type-approved vehicles of category L in the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013;
(44) ‘cooling generator’ means the part of a cooling system that generates a temperature difference allowing heat extraction from the space or process to be cooled, using an electric vapour compression cycle;
(45) ‘heat pump’ means the part of a heating system that generates a temperature difference allowing heat supply to the space or process to be heated, using an electric vapour compression cycle;
(46) ‘electric motor’ means a device that converts electrical input power into mechanical output power, and with a rated output equal to or above 0.12 kW ;
(47) ‘automatic washing machine’ means a washing machine where the load is fully treated by the washing machine without the need for user intervention at any point during the programme;
(48) ‘tumble dryer’ means an appliance in which textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating drum through which heated air is passed;
(49) ‘microwave’ means any appliance intended to be used for the heating of food using electromagnetic energy;
(50) ‘vacuum cleaner’ means an appliance that removes soil from a surface to be cleaned by means of an airflow created by under pressure developed within the unit;
(51) ‘dishwasher’ means a machine which cleans and rinses tableware;
(52) ‘permanent magnet’ means a magnet that retains its magnetism after being removed from an external magnetic field;
(53) ‘data carrier’ means a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or other automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device;
(54) ‘unique product identifier’ means a unique string of characters for the identification of products;
(55) ‘magnet coating’ means a layer of material generally used to protect magnets from corrosion;
(56) ‘removal’ means manual, mechanical, chemical, thermal or metallurgic handling with the result that the targeted components or materials are identifiable as a separate output stream or part of an output stream;
(57) ‘recycler’ means any natural or legal person who carries out recycling in a permitted facility;
(58) ‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;
(59) ‘critical raw material type’ means a critical raw material placed on the market that is differentiated by its stage of processing, its chemical composition, its geographical origin or the production methods used;
(60) ‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market;
(61) ‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether the requirements set out Article 27, 28 or 34 have been fulfilled;
(62) ‘Strategic Partnership’ means a commitment between the Union and a third country to increase cooperation related to the raw materials value chain that is established through a non-binding instrument setting out concrete actions of mutual interest.
Chapter 2
Critical and strategic raw materials
Article 3
List of strategic raw materials
1. The raw materials listed in Annex I, Section 1 shall be considered strategic raw materials.
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to amend Annex I, Section 1 in order to update the list of strategic raw materials.
An updated list of strategic raw materials shall include, from among the raw materials assessed, the raw materials that score among the highest in terms of strategic importance, forecasted demand growth and difficulty of increasing production. The strategic importance, projected demand growth and difficulty of increasing production shall be determined in accordance with Annex I, Section 2.
3. The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of strategic raw materials by [OP please insert: four years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], and every 4 four years thereafter.
Article 4
List of critical raw materials
1. The raw materials listed in Annex II, Section 1 shall be considered critical raw materials.
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to amend Annex II, Section 1 in order to update the list of critical raw materials.
An updated list of critical raw materials shall include the strategic raw materials listed in Annex I, Section 1 as well as any other raw material that reaches or exceeds the thresholds for both economic importance and supply risk referred to in paragraph 3. Economic importance and supply risk shall be calculated in accordance with Annex II, Section 2.
3. The thresholds shall be 1 for supply risk and 2.8 for economic importance.
4. The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of critical raw materials by [OP please insert: four years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], and every 4 four years thereafter.
Chapter 3
Strengthening the Union raw materials value chain
Section 1
Strategic Projects
Article 5
Criteria for recognition of Strategic Projects
1. Following an application of the project promoter and in accordance with the procedure established in Article 6, the Commission shall recognise as Strategic Projects raw material projects that meet the following criteria:
(a) the project would make a meaningful contribution to the security of the Union's supply of strategic raw materials;
(b) the project is or will become technically feasible within a reasonable timeframe and the expected production volume of the project can be estimated with a sufficient level of confidence;
(c) the project would be implemented sustainably, in particular as regards the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour rights, quality jobs potential and meaningful engagement with local communities and relevant social partners, and the use of transparent business practices with adequate compliance policies to prevent and minimise risks of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration, including corruption and bribery;
(d) for projects in the Union, the establishment, operation or production of the project would have cross-border benefits beyond the Member State concerned, including for downstream sectors;
(e) for projects in third countries that are emerging markets or developing economies, the project would be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country concerned by adding value in that country.
2. The fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 shall be assessed by the Commission in accordance with the elements and evidence set out in Annex III.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to amend Annex III in order to adapt the elements and evidence to be taken into account when assessing the fulfilment of the recognition criteria set out in paragraph 1 to technical and scientific progress or to take into account changes to the Union legislation or international instruments listed in Annex III, point 4, or the adoption of additional Union legislation or international instruments relevant for the fulfilment of the criterion referred to in paragraph 1, point (c).
3. The recognition of a project as a Strategic Project shall not affect the requirements applicable to the relevant project or project promoter under international, Union or national law.
Article 6
Application and recognition
1. Applications for recognition of a raw material project as a Strategic Project shall be submitted by the project promoter to the Commission. The application shall include:
(a) relevant evidence related to fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Article 5(1);
(b) a classification of the project according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources, supported by appropriate evidence;
(c) a timetable for the implementation of the project, including an overview of the permits required for the project and the status of the corresponding permit granting process;
(d) a plan containing measures to facilitate public acceptance including, where appropriate, the establishment of recurrent communication channels with the local communities and organisations, including social partners, the implementation of awareness-raising and information campaigns and the establishment of mitigation and compensation mechanisms;
(e) information on the control of the undertakings involved in the project, defined pursuant to Article 3(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004;
(f) a business plan evaluating the financial viability of the project;
(g) an estimate of the project’s potential for quality job creation and the project’s needs in terms of skilled workforce as well as upskilling and reskilling.
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template to be used by project promoters for the applications referred to in paragraph 1. The template may indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
3. Where the Commission considers that information provided in the application is incomplete, it shall give the applicant the opportunity to submit the additional information required to complete the application in a timely manner.
4. The European Critical Raw Materials Board referred to in Article 34 ('the Board') shall, based on a fair and transparent process, discuss and issue an opinion on the completeness of the application and whether the proposed project fulfils the criteria set out in Article 5(1).
5. Where the Member State whose territory is concerned by a proposed project objects to granting the proposed project strategic status, it shall present substantiated reasons for doing so during the discussion referred to in paragraph 4. The Board shall discuss the substantiated reasons presented by a Member State for its objection. If, after the discussion, the Member State maintains its objection, the project shall not be considered for the status of Strategic Project.
For Strategic Projects in third countries, the Commission shall share the application received with the third country whose territory is concerned by the proposed project. The Commission shall not approve the application before receiving the explicit approval of the relevant third country.
6. The Commission shall, taking account of the Board's opinion referred to in paragraph 4, adopt its decision on the recognition of the project as Strategic Project within 60 days and notify the applicant thereof.
The Commission's decision shall be reasoned, including, where applicable, where it is different from the Board's opinion. The Commission shall share its reasons with the Board as well as with the project promoter.
7. The Commission may prioritise the processing of applications for projects active on specific stages of the value chain in order to:
(a) ensure a balanced representation of Strategic Projects for all strategic raw materials and in all stages of the value chain;
(b) ensure progress is achieved towards all the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), points (a) and (b).
8. Where the Commission finds that a Strategic Project no longer fulfils the criteria set out in Article 5(1) or where its recognition was based on an application containing incorrect information, it may, taking into account the opinion of the Board and the responsible project promoter, repeal the decision granting a project the status of Strategic Project.
9. Projects which are no longer recognised as Strategic Projects shall lose all rights connected to that status under this Regulation.
Article 7
Implementation of Strategic Projects
1. Strategic Projects shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply of strategic raw materials in the Union.
2. With regard to the environmental impacts addressed in Articles 6(4) and 16(1)(c) of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article 9(1)(a) of Directive 2009/147/EC, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be considered as being of public interest or serving public health and safety, and may be considered as having an overriding public interest provided that all the conditions set out in those Directives are fulfilled.
3. The Member State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project shall take measures to contribute to its timely and effective implementation.
4. The Board shall periodically discuss the implementation of the Strategic Projects and, where necessary, measures that could be taken by the project promoter or the Member State whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project to further facilitate the implementation of those Strategic Projects.
5. The project promoter shall, every two years after the date of recognition as a Strategic Project, submit a report to the Board containing information on at least:
(a) progress in the implementation of the project, in particular with regard to the permit granting process;
(b) where relevant, reasons for delays compared to the timetable referred to in Article 6(1), point (c) and a plan to overcome such delays;
(c) progress in financing the project, including information on public financial support.
6. The Board may request additional information from project promoters relevant to the implementation of the Strategic Project at any moment.
7. The project promoter shall notify the Commission of:
(a) changes to the project affecting its fulfilment of the criteria set out in Article 5(1);
(b) changes in control of the undertakings involved in the project on a lasting basis, compared to the information referred to in Article 6(1), point (e).
8. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template to be used by project promoters for the reports referred to in paragraph 5. The template may indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 5 shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
9. The project promoter shall establish and regularly update a dedicated project website with relevant information about the Strategic Project, including information on the environmental, social and economic impacts and benefits associated with the Strategic Project. The website shall be freely accessible to the public and shall be available in a language or languages that can be easily understood by the local population.
Section 2
Permit granting process
Article 8
One stop shop
1. By [OP please insert: 3 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], Member States shall designate one national competent authority which shall be responsible for facilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process for critical raw material projects and provide information on the elements referred to in Article 17.
2. The national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the sole point of contact for the project promoter in the permit granting process leading to a comprehensive decision for a given critical raw material project and shall coordinate the submission of all relevant documents and information.
3. The responsibilities of the national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 or the tasks related to it may be delegated to, or carried out by, another authority, for each critical raw material projects, provided that:
(a) the national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 notifies the project promoter of that delegation;
(b) a single authority is responsible for each critical raw material projects.
(c) a single authority coordinates the submission of any relevant documents and information.
4. Project promoters shall be allowed to submit all documents relevant to the permit granting process in electronic form.
5. The national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall take into consideration any valid studies conducted and permits or authorisations issued for a given critical raw material project before the project entered the permit granting process in accordance with this Article, and shall not require duplicate studies and permits or authorisations, unless otherwise required under Union law.
6. The national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that applicants have easy access to information on and simple procedures for the settlement of disputes concerning the permit granting process and the issuance of permits for critical raw materials projects, including, where applicable, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
7. Member States shall ensure that the national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 has a sufficient number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical and technological resources necessary, including for up- and re-skilling, for the effective performance of its tasks under this Regulation.
8. The Board shall:
(a) periodically discuss the implementation of this Section and share best-practices for speeding up permitting procedure for critical raw material projects as well as to improve their public acceptance;
(b) where relevant, propose to the Commission guidelines for the implementation of this Section to be taken into account by national competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 9
Priority status of Strategic Projects
1. For the purpose of ensuring efficient administrative processing of the permitting processes related to Strategic Projects in the Union, project promoters and all authorities concerned shall ensure that those processes are treated in the most rapid way possible in accordance with Union and national law.
2. Without prejudice to obligations provided for in Union law, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be granted the status of the highest national significance possible, where such a status exists in national law, and be treated accordingly in the permit granting processes.
3. All dispute resolution procedures, litigation, appeals and judicial remedies related to the permit-granting process and the issuance of permits for Strategic Projects in the Union in front of any national courts, tribunals, panels, including mediation or arbitration, where they exist in national law, shall be treated as urgent, if and to the extent to which national law provides for such urgency procedures and provided that the normally applicable rights of defence of individuals or of local communities would be respected. Project promoters of Strategic Projects shall participate in such urgency procedure, where applicable.
Article 10
Duration of the permit granting process
1. For Strategic Projects in the Union, the permit granting process shall not exceed:
(a) 24 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;
(b) 12 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.
2. For Strategic Projects in the Union that had entered in the permit granting process before being granted the status of Strategic Project, the duration of the remaining steps of the permit granting process after the project is granted strategic status shall, in derogation from paragraph 1, not exceed:
(a) 21 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;
(b) 9 months for Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling.
3. In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed project so require, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) may extend the time limits referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), and 2, point (a), by a maximum of 3 months and the time limits referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), and 2, point (b), by a maximum of 1 month, before their expiry and on a case-by-case basis. In that event, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying the extension and of the date when the comprehensive decision is expected in writing.
4. For Strategic Projects only involving processing or recycling, the lack of comprehensive decision by the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) within the applicable time limits referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall result in the relevant permit granting application to be considered as approved, except in those cases where the specific project requires an environmental impact assessment pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC or Directives 2000/60/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2009/147/EC 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or 2012/18/EU or a determination of whether such environmental impact assessment is necessary and the relevant assessments have not yet been carried out.
5. No later than one month following the receipt of a permit granting application related to a Strategic Project, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall validate the application or, if the project promoter has not sent all the information required to process an application, request the project promoter to submit a complete application within fourteen days from this request.
The date of the acknowledgement of the validity of the application by the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall serve as the start of the permit granting process.
6. No later than one month following the date of the acknowledgement of the validity of the permit granting application, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall draw up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned, a detailed schedule for the permit granting process. The schedule shall be published by either the project promoter on the website referred to in Article 7(7) or by the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) on a free access website.
7. The time limits set in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising from Union and international law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal procedures and judicial remedies before a court or tribunal.
The time limits set in this Article for any of the permit granting procedures shall be without prejudice to any shorter time limits set by Member States.
Article 11
Environmental assessments and authorisations
1. Where an environmental impact assessment must be carried out for a Strategic Project in accordance with Articles 5 to 9 of Directive 2011/92/EU, the relevant project promoter shall request an opinion to the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in the environmental impact assessment report under Article 5(1) of that Directive.
The national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall ensure that the opinion referred to in the first subparagraph is issued as soon as possible and within a period of time not exceeding 30 days from the date on which the project promoter submitted its request.
2. In the case of Strategic Projects for which the obligation to carry out assessments of the effects on the environment arises simultaneously from Council Directive 92/43/EEC, Directives 2000/60/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2009/147/EC 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and the Council, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall ensure that a coordinated or a joint procedure fulfilling the requirements of that Union legislation is applied.
Under the coordinated procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall coordinate the various individual assessments of the environmental impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislation.
Under the joint procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall provide for a single assessment of the environmental impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislation.
3. The national competent authority referred to in Article 8(1) shall ensure that the authorities concerned issue the reasoned conclusion referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(iv) of Directive 2011/92/EU on the environmental impact assessment of a Strategic Project within three months of receiving all necessary information gathered pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of that Directive and completing the consultations referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of that Directive.
4. The time-frame for consulting the public concerned on the environmental impact assessment report referred to in Article 5(1) of Directive 2011/92/EU shall not be longer than 90 days in the case of Strategic Projects.
5. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the permit granting process for Strategic Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before the being granted the status of Strategic Project.
Paragraphs 2 to 4 of this Article shall apply to the permit granting process for Strategic Projects that had entered in the permit granting process before being granted the status of Strategic Project only to the extent that the steps addressed in those paragraphs have not yet been completed.
Article 12
Planning
1. Member States shall ensure that national, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing plans, including zoning, spatial plans and land use plans, include in such plans, where appropriate, provisions for the development of critical raw materials projects. Priority shall be given to artificial and built surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, and, where appropriate, greenfield sites not usable for agriculture and forestry.
2. Where plans including provisions for the development of critical raw material projects are subject to an assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and pursuant to Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where relevant, this combined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies and verify whether the plan would cause deterioration of the status or of the potential referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2000/60/EC or would potentially hamper that a water body achieves good status or good potential. Where relevant Member States are required to assess the impacts of existing and future activities on the marine environment, including land-sea interactions, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2014/89/EU, these impacts shall also be covered by the combined assessment.
Article 13
Applicability of UNECE conventions
1. The provisions set out in this Regulation are without prejudice to the obligations under Articles 6 and 7 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, signed at Aarhus on 25 June 1998, and under the UNECE Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context, signed at Espoo on 25 February 1991.
2. All decisions adopted pursuant to this Section shall be made publicly available.
Section 3
Enabling conditions
Article 14
Accelerating implementation
1. The Commission and the Member States shall undertake activities to accelerate and crowd-in private investments in Strategic Projects. Such activities may, without prejudice to Article 107 and Article 108 of the TFEU, include providing and coordinating support to Strategic Projects facing difficulties in accessing finance.
2. Member States may provide administrative support to Strategic Projects to facilitate their rapid and effective implementation, including by providing:
(a) assistance to ensure compliance with applicable administrative and reporting obligations;
(b) assistance to project promoters to further increase the public acceptance of the project.
Article 15
Coordination of financing
1. The standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (a) shall , at the request of a project promoter of a Strategic Project, discuss and advise on how the financing of its project can be completed, taking into account the funding already secured and considering at least the following elements:
(a) additional private sources of financing;
(b) support through resources from the European Investment Bank Group or other international financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
(c) existing Member State instruments and programmes, including from national promotional banks and institutions;
(d) relevant Union funding and financing programmes.
Article 16
Facilitating off-take agreements
1. The Commission shall set up a system to facilitate the conclusion of off-take agreements related to Strategic Projects, in compliance with competition rules.
2. The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow potential off-takers to make bids indicating:
(a) the volume and quality of strategic raw materials they intend to purchase;
(b) the intended price or price range;
(c) the intended duration of the off-take agreement.
3. The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow project promoters of Strategic Projects to make offers indicating:
(a) the volume and quality of strategic raw materials for which they are seeking to conclude off-take agreements;
(b) the intended price or price range at which they are willing to sell;
(c) the intended duration of the off-take agreement.
4. Based on the bids and offers received pursuant to paragraph 2 and 3, the Commission shall bring project promoters of Strategic Projects in contact with potential off-takers relevant for their project.
Article 17
Online accessibility of administrative information
Member States shall provide the following information on administrative processes relevant to critical raw material projects online, and in a centralised and easily accessible manner:
(a) the permit-granting process;
(b) financing and investment services;
(c) funding possibilities at Union or Member State level;
(d) business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax declaration, local tax laws, labour law.
Section 4
Exploration
Article 18
National exploration programmes
1. Each Member State shall draw up a national programme for general exploration targeted at critical raw materials. Each Member State shall draw up the first such programme by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. The national programmes shall be reviewed and, if necessary, updated, at least every 5 years.
2. The national exploration programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall include measures to increase available information on the Union’s critical raw material occurrences, including deep ore deposits. They shall include, as appropriate, the following measures:
(a) mineral mapping at a suitable scale;
(b) geochemical campaigns, including to establish the chemical compositions of soils, sediments, rocks;
(c) geoscientific surveys, such as geophysical surveys;
(d) processing of the data gathered through general exploration, including through the development of predictive maps;
(e) reprocessing of existing geoscientific survey data to check for unidentified mineral occurrences containing critical raw materials.
3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission their national programmes referred to in paragraph 1.
4. Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on progress in the implementation of the measures included in their national programmes.
5. Member States shall make the information on their mineral occurrences containing critical raw materials gathered through the measures set out in the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 publicly available on a free access website. This information shall, where applicable, include the classification of the identified occurrences using the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources.
The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing a template for making available the information referred to in the first subparagraph. The template may indicate how the information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
6. Taking into consideration existing cooperation on general exploration, the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (b) shall discuss the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 and their implementation, including at least:
(a) the potential for cooperation, including on exploration of cross-border mineral occurrences and common geological formations;
(b) best practices related to the measures listed in paragraph 2;
(c) the possibility to create an integrated database for storing the results of the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1.
Chapter 4
Risk monitoring and mitigation
Article 19
Monitoring and stress testing
1. The Commission shall monitor supply risk related to critical raw materials. That monitoring shall cover at least the evolution of the following parameters:
(a) trade flows;
(b) demand and supply;
(c) concentration of supply;
(d) Union and global production and production capacities at different stages of the value chain.
2. The national authorities participating in the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c) shall support the Commission in the monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 by:
(a) sharing any information they have at their disposal on the evolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1, including the information referred to in Article 20;
(b) gathering, in coordination with the Commission and the other participating authorities, information on the evolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1, including the information referred to in Article 20;
(c) providing an analysis of the supply risks for critical raw materials in light of the evolution of the parameters listed in paragraph 1.
3. The Commission, in collaboration with the national authorities participating in the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c), shall ensure that a stress test is performed for each strategic raw material’s supply chain at least every three years. To that end, the standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6), point (c) shall coordinate and divide the implementation of stress tests for the different strategic raw materials by the different participating authorities.
The stress tests referred to in the first subparagraph shall consist of an assessment of the vulnerability of the Union’s supply chain of the relevant strategic raw material to supply disruptions by estimating the impact of different scenarios that may cause such disruptions and their potential effects, taking into account at least the following elements:
(a) where the raw material concerned is extracted, processed or recycled;
(b) the capacities of economic operators along the value chain as well as the market structure;
(c) factors that might affect supply, including but not limited to the geopolitical situation, logistics, energy supply, workforce or natural disasters;
(d) the availability of alternative supply sources and of substitute materials;
(e) the users of the relevant raw material along the value chain and their share of demand, with special attention to the manufacturing of technologies relevant for the green and digital transitions as well as defence and space applications.
4. The Commission shall make publicly available on a free access website and regularly update a monitoring dashboard containing:
(a) the available information on the evolution of the parameters referred to in paragraph 1;
(b) a calculation of the supply risk for critical raw materials in light of the information referred to in point (a);
(c) the results of the stress tests referred to in paragraph 3;
(d) where appropriate, suggestion for suitable mitigation strategies to decrease supply risk.
5. Where, based on the information gathered pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, the Commission considers that there a is clear indication of the risk of a supply disruption, the Commission shall alert Member States, the Board and the Union governance bodies of crisis vigilance or crisis management mechanisms whose scope covers relevant critical or strategic raw materials.
Article 20
Information obligations for monitoring
1. Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information to the Commission on any new or existing raw material project on their territory that is relevant regarding to Article 19(1), point (d), including a classification of new projects according to the United Nations Framework Classification of Resources.
2. Member States shall identify key market operators along the critical raw materials value chain established in their territory and shall:
(a) monitor their activities through regular and proportionate surveys with a view to gathering information required for the monitoring tasks referred to in Article 19;
(b) as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on the results of those surveys;
(c) without delay notify the Commission of major events that may hinder the regular operations of the activities of key market operators.
3. Member States shall transmit the data collected pursuant to paragraphs 2(a) and (b) of this Article to national statistical authorities and to Eurostat for the purposes of compiling statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Member States shall designate the national authority responsible for transmitting the data to national statistical offices and Eurostat.
Article 21
Reporting of strategic stocks
1. Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, submit to the Commission information on the state of their strategic stocks of strategic raw materials.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover stocks held by all public authorities, publicly owned companies or economic operators charged by a Member State to build up strategic stocks on its behalf and shall at least include a description of:
(a) the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material, measured both in tonnes and as a percentage of annual national consumption of the relevant materials, as well as the chemical form and purity of the materials stocked;
(b) the evolution of the level of stocks available for each strategic raw material over the preceding 5 years;
(c) any rules or procedures applicable to the release, allocation and distribution of strategic stocks.
3. The report may also include information of strategic stocks of critical and other raw materials.
Article 22
Coordination of strategic stocks
1. By [OP please complete: 2 year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and every 2 years after that, the Commission shall, based on the information received pursuant to Article 21(1), share with the Board:
(a) a draft benchmark indicating a safe level of Union stocks for each strategic raw material, defined pursuant to paragraph 2;
(b) a comparison of the overall level of Union stocks for each strategic raw material and the draft benchmark referred to in point (a);
(c) information on the potential cross-border accessibility of strategic stocks, in light of the rules or procedures for their release, allocation and distribution.
2. The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board, shall adopt a benchmark indicating a safe level of Union stocks of strategic raw materials, which shall:
(a) be expressed as the amount needed to cover an amount of days of average daily net imports in case of a supply disruption, calculated on the basis of the amount of imports during the previous calendar year;
(b) take into account stocks held by private operators, to the extent that information on such stocks is available;
(c) be proportionate to the supply risk and economic importance associated with the relevant strategic raw material.
3. The Commission, taking account of the views of the Board, may issue opinions addressed to Member States:
(a) to increase the level of strategic stocks, taking into account the comparison referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), the relative distribution of existing stocks among Member States and the consumption of strategic raw materials by economic operators in the Member States' respective territories;
(b) to amend or coordinate the rules or procedures for the release, allocation and distribution of strategic stocks in order to improve the potential cross-border accessibility, in particular where necessary for the production of strategic technologies.
4. In preparing opinions referred to in paragraph 3, the Board shall give particular weight to the need to maintain incentives for private operators, which rely on strategic raw materials as inputs, to constitute their own stocks or to take other measures to manage their exposure to supply risks.
5. Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on whether and how they have implemented or intend to implement the opinions referred to in paragraph 3.
6. Ahead of the participation of at least two Member States in international or multilateral fora in the areas of strategic stocks for strategic raw materials, the Commission shall ensure a prior coordination either between the Member States concerned and the Commission or by a dedicated meeting of the Board.
7. The data collected on the available Union stocks shall be provided by the Commission to the Union governance bodies responsible for crisis vigilance or crisis management mechanisms covering relevant strategic raw materials.
Article 23
Company risk preparedness
1. Member States shall identify the large companies that manufacture strategic technologies using strategic raw materials on their territory.
The strategic technologies referred to in the first subparagraph shall include, but are not limited to, batteries for energy storage and e-mobility, equipment related to hydrogen production and utilisation, equipment related to renewable energy generation, traction motors, heat pumps, data transmission and storage, mobile electronic devices, equipment related to additive manufacturing, robotics, drones, rocket launchers, satellites and advanced chips.
2. Large companies identified by Member States pursuant to paragraph 1 shall, every two years, perform an audit of their supply chain, including:
(a) a mapping of where the strategic raw materials they use are extracted, processed or recycled;
(b) a stress test of their supply chain of strategic raw materials, consisting of an assessment of its vulnerability to supply disruptions by estimating the impact of different scenarios that may cause such disruptions and their potential effects, taking into account at least the elements listed in Article 19(3).
3. Companies referred to under paragraph 1 shall present a report containing the results of the audit referred to in paragraph 2 to their board of directors.
Article 24
Joint purchasing
1. The Commission shall set up and operate a system to aggregate the demand of interested undertakings consuming strategic raw materials established in the Union and Member State authorities responsible for strategic stocks and seek offers from suppliers to match that aggregated demand. This shall cover both unprocessed and processed strategic raw materials.
2. In setting up and operating the system referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall:
(a) choose for which strategic raw materials, at which processing stage, the system can be used, taking into account the relative supply risk of different strategic raw materials and the need for building up strategic stocks related to those material based on the information gathered pursuant to Articles 21 and 22;
(b) set minimum amounts of demanded material to participate in the system, taking into account the expected number of interested participants and the need to ensure a manageable amount of participants.
3. Participation in the system referred to in paragraph shall be open and transparent to all interested undertakings established in the Union and to Member State authorities. Participation of Member States or any national entities subject to the procurement Directives 2014/24 or 2014/25 shall be possible only in cases where such participation is compatible with these Directives.
4. Union undertakings and Member State authorities participating in the system referred to in paragraph 1 may, on a transparent basis, jointly negotiate the purchase, including the prices or other terms and conditions of the purchasing agreement or use joint purchasing in order to achieve better conditions with their suppliers or to prevent shortages. Participating Union undertakings and Member State authorities shall comply with Union law, including Union competition law.
5. Entities shall be excluded from participation as supplier, in the demand aggregation and joint purchasing or as service provider if they are:
(a) targeted by Union restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215 TFEU;
(b) directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf or at the direction of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies targeted by such Union restrictive measures.
6. By derogation from Article 176 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Commission may contract the necessary services of an entity established in the Union through a procurement procedure under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, acting as a service provider to set up and operate the system under paragraph 1. The Service provider selected shall not have any conflict of interest.
7. The Commission shall define in the service contract the tasks to be provided by the service provider, including the allocation of demand, the allocation of access rights for supply, registration and verification of all participants, publication and reporting of the activities and any other task necessary to set up and operate the system. The service contract shall also deal with practicalities of the operation of the service provider including the use of the IT tool, the security measures, the currency or currencies, the payment regime, and liabilities.
8. The service contract with the service provider shall reserve to the Commission the right to monitor and audit it. For that purpose, the Commission shall have full access to the information held by the service provider in relation to the contract. All servers and information shall be physically located and stored in the territory of the Union.
9. The service contract with the selected service provider shall determine the ownership of the information obtained by the service provider, and shall provide for the possible transfer of that information to the Commission at the termination or expiry of the service contract.
Chapter 5
Sustainability
Section 1
Circularity
Article 25
National measures on circularity
1. Each Member State shall by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] adopt and implement national programmes containing measures designed to:
(a) increase the collection of waste with high critical raw materials recovery potential and ensure their introduction into the appropriate recycling system, with a view to maximising the availability and quality of recyclable material as an input to critical raw material recycling facilities;
(b) increase the re-use of products and components with high critical raw materials recovery potential;
(c) increase the use of secondary critical raw materials in manufacturing, including, where appropriate, by taking recycled content into account in award criteria related to public procurement;
(d) increase the technological maturity of recycling technologies for critical raw materials and to promote materials efficiency and the substitution of critical raw materials in applications, at least by including support actions to that effect under national research & innovation programmes;
(e) ensure that their workforce is equipped with the skills needed to support circularity of the critical raw materials value chain.
2. The programmes referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover in particular products and waste which are not subject to any specific requirement on collection, treatment, recycling or re-use under Union legislation. For other products and waste, the measures shall be implemented in coherence with existing Union legislation.
With respect to points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the programmes referred to in that paragraph may include, without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU, the introduction of financial incentives, such as discounts, monetary rewards or deposit-refund systems, to encourage the re-use of products with high critical raw materials recovery potential and the collection of waste from such products.
3. Each Member State shall by [OP please insert: 4 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] adopt and implement measures to promote the recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste, in particular from closed waste facilities identified in the database created in accordance with Article 26 as containing potentially economically recoverable critical raw materials.
4. The national measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be designed so as to avoid barriers to trade and distortions of competition in conformity with the TFEU.
5. When reporting to the Commission the data concerning the quantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment recycled, pursuant to Article 16(6) of Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment, Member States shall identify separately, and report, the quantities of components containing relevant amounts of critical raw materials removed from such waste equipment and the quantities of critical raw materials recovered from the waste electrical and electronic equipment. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the format and details of such reporting. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3). The first reporting period shall cover the first full calendar year after the adoption of those implementing acts.
6. Member States shall, as part of the report referred to in Article 43, provide information on the adoption of the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 and on progress in the implementation of the measures taken pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.
7. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying a list of products, components and waste streams that shall at least be considered as having a high critical raw materials recovery potential within the meaning of paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
In drawing up this list, the Commission shall take account of:
(a) the total amount of critical raw materials recoverable from those products, components and waste streams:
(b) the extent to which those products, components and waste streams are covered by Union legislation;
(c) regulatory gaps;
(d) particular challenges affecting their collection and waste treatment;
(e) existing systems of collection and waste treatment applying to them.
The implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
Article 26
Recovery of critical raw materials from extractive waste
1. Operators obliged to submit waste management plans in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2006/21/EC shall provide to the competent authority as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2006/21/EC a preliminary economic assessment study regarding the potential recovery of critical raw materials from:
(a) the extractive waste stored in the facility; and
(b) the extractive waste being generated or, where considered more effective, from the extracted volume prior to it becoming waste.
2. The study referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least include an estimation of the quantities and concentrations of critical raw materials contained in the extractive waste and in the extracted volume and an assessment of their technical and economic recoverability.
3. Operators of existing waste facilities shall submit the study referred to in paragraph 1 to the competent authority as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2006/21/EC by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. Operators of new waste facilities shall submit this study to the competent authority when submitting their waste management plans in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2006/21/EC.
4. Member States shall establish a database of all closed waste facilities, including abandoned waste facilities, located on their territory. This database shall contain information on:
(a) the location, areal extent and waste volume of the waste facility;
(b) the operator or former operator of the waste facility and, where applicable, their legal successor;
(c) the approximate quantities and concentrations of all raw materials contained in the extractive waste and, where available, in the original mineral deposit, in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article;
(d) any additional information considered relevant by the Member State to enable the recovery of critical raw materials from a waste facility.
5. The database referred to in paragraph 4 shall be put in place by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and all information completed by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. It shall be made available in a publicly accessible and digital form and updated at least every 2 years to incorporate additional available information and newly closed or newly identified facilities.
6. In order to provide the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), Member States shall undertake at least the following activities:
(a) for all closed waste facilities, Member States shall comprehensively review the available permitting files by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation];
(b) for such waste facilities where available information does not a priori exclude the presence of potentially economically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials, Member States shall additionally conduct, by [OP please insert: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], a representative geochemical sampling;
(c) for such waste facilities where the activities described under points (a) and (b) of this paragraph have indicated potentially economically recoverable quantities of critical raw materials, Member States shall additionally carry out, by [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], a more detailed analysis involving core logging or equivalent techniques, where this is environmentally sound in accordance with applicable environmental requirements at Union level and with the requirements of Directive 2006/21/EC where relevant.
7. The activities described in paragraph 6 shall be carried out within the limits of national legal systems pertaining to property rights, ownership of land, mineral resources and waste, and any other relevant provisions. Where such factors inhibit the activities, the Member State authorities shall seek the cooperation of the operator or owner of the waste facility. The results of the activities described under paragraph 6 shall be made accessible as part of the database. Where possible, the Member States shall include in the database a classification of the closed extractive waste facilities according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources.
Article 27
Recyclability of permanent magnets
1. From [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], any natural or legal person that places on the market magnetic resonance imaging devices, wind energy generators, industrial robots, motor vehicles, light means of transport, cooling generators, heat pumps, electric motors, including where they are integrated in other products, automatic washing machines, tumble driers, microwaves, vacuum cleaners or dishwashers shall ensure that those products bear a conspicuous, clearly legible and indelible label indicating:
(a) whether or not those products incorporate one or more permanent magnets;
(b) if the product incorporates one or more permanent magnets, whether those magnets belong to any of the following types:
(i) Neodymium-Iron-Boron;
(ii) Samarium-Cobalt;
(iii) Aluminium-Nickel-Cobalt;
(iv) Ferrite.
2. The Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing the format for the labelling referred to in paragraph 1. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
3. From [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred to in paragraph 1 incorporating one or more permanent magnets of the types referred in paragraph 1, point (b), points (i) to (iii), shall ensure that a data carrier is present on or in the product.
4. The data carrier referred to in paragraph 3 shall be linked to a unique product identifier that provides access to the following:
(a) the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address of the responsible natural or legal person and, where available, electronic means of communication where they can be contacted;
(b) information on the weight, location and chemical composition of all individual permanent magnets included in the product, and on the presence and type of magnet coatings, glues and any additives used;
(c) information enabling access and removal of all permanent magnets incorporated in the product, at least including the sequence of all removal steps, tools or technologies required for the access and removal of the permanent magnet, without prejudice to Article 15(1) of Directive 2012/19/EU.
5. For products where the incorporated permanent magnets are exclusively contained in one or more electric motors incorporated in the product, the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (b), may be replaced by information on the location of those electric motors, and the information referred to in paragraph 4, point (c), may be replaced by information on the access and removal of the electric motors, at least including the sequence of all removal steps, tools or technologies required for the access and removal of the electric motors.
6. For products referred to in paragraph 3 for which a product passport as defined in Regulation XX/XXXX [the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation] is required pursuant to another Union legislative act, the information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be included in that product passport.
7. The information referred to in paragraph 3 shall be complete, up-to-date and accurate and shall remain available for a period at least equal to the product’s typical lifetime plus ten years, including after an insolvency, a liquidation or a cessation of activity in the Union of the responsible natural or legal person.
The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall refer to the product model or, where the information differs between units of the same model, to a particular batch or unit. The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall be accessible to recyclers, market surveillance authorities and customs authorities.
8. Article 9(1), point (c) and (d) and Articles 10 and 13 of Regulation (EU) …/…[OP: please insert reference to the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products], as well as the corresponding definitions in Article 2 of that Regulation, shall apply.
Before placing a product referred to in paragraph 3 on the market, natural or legal persons shall ensure that the unique product identifier referred to in paragraph 4 is uploaded in the registry referred to in [Article 12(1)] of Regulation (EU) …/… [Ecodesign for Sustainable Products].
For purposes of the first and second subparagraph, the references to ‘the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 10, point (b) and to ‘delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 10, point f, and Article 13(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be read as references to this Regulation.
9. Where information requirements relating to the recycling of permanent magnets are established in delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 4 of the Regulation XX/XXXX [OP please insert: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation] or in other Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph 1, those requirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.
10. Products primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from the requirements of this Article
11. For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport that are type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements of this Article shall apply from [OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].
12. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to amend Annex VI in order to provide or update a list of Combined Nomenclature49 codes and product descriptions corresponding to the products referred to in paragraph 1 with the aim of facilitating the work of customs authorities in relation to those products and the requirements set out in this Article and in Article 28.
Article 28
Recycled content of permanent magnets
1. From either [OP please insert: 3 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] or 2 years after the entry into force of the delegated act referred to in paragraph 2, whichever is later, any natural or legal person that places on the market products referred to in Article 27(1) which incorporate one or more permanent magnets referred to in Article 27(1), point (b)(i) to (iii) and for which the total weight of all such permanent magnets exceeds 0.2 kg shall make publicly available on a free access website the share of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in the product.
2. By [OP please insert: 2 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by establishing rules for the calculation and verification of the share of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from manufacturing waste or post-consumer waste present in the permanent magnets incorporated in the products referred to in paragraph 1.
The calculation and verification rules shall specify the applicable conformity assessment procedure from among the modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC, with the adaptations necessary in view of the products concerned. When specifying the applicable conformity assessment procedure, the Commission shall consider the following criteria:
(a) whether the module concerned is appropriate to the type of product and proportionate to the public interest pursued;
(b) the availability of competent and independent third parties able to perform potential third party conformity assessment tasks;
(c) where third party involvement is mandatory, the need for the manufacturer to have a choice between quality assurance and product certification modules set out in Annex II of Decision No 768/2008/EC.
3. After 31 December 2030, the Commission may adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation by laying down minimum shares for neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste that must be present in the permanent magnet incorporated in the products referred to in paragraph 1.
Delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide for transitional periods adapted to the difficulty of adopting the products covered by the measure to ensure compliance.
The minimum share referred to in the first subparagraph shall be based on a prior assessment of impacts, taking into account:
(a) the existing and forecasted availability of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt recovered from post-consumer waste;
(b) the information collected pursuant to paragraph 1 and the relative distribution of the share of recycled content in permanent magnets incorporated in products referred to in paragraph 1 placed on the market;
(c) technical and scientific progress, including considerable changes in permanent magnet technologies impacting the type of materials recovered;
(d) the effective and potential contribution of a minimum share to the Union’s climate and environmental objectives;
(e) possible impacts on the functioning of products incorporating permanent magnets;
(f) the need to prevent disproportionate negative impacts on the affordability of permanent magnets and products incorporating permanent magnets.
4. Where requirements relating to the recycled content of permanent magnets are established in delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 4 of the Regulation XX/XXXX [OP please insert: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation] or other Union harmonisation legislation for any of the products listed in paragraph 1, those requirements shall apply in replacement of the provisions of this Article.
5. From the date of application of the requirement of paragraph 1, when offering the products referred to in paragraph 1 for sale, including in case of distance selling, or displaying them in the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing on the market products referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that their customers have access to the information referred to in paragraph 1 before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market products referred to in paragraph 1 shall not provide or display labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead or confuse customers with respect to the information referred to in paragraph 1. Products primarily designed for defence or space applications shall be exempted from the requirements of this Article.
6. For magnetic resonance imaging devices, motor vehicles and light means of transport that are type-approved vehicles of category L, the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 6 shall apply from 5 years after the date of entry into force of the delegated act referred to in paragraph 2.
Section 2
Certification and environmental footprint
Article 29
Recognised schemes
1. Governments or organisations that have developed and oversee certification schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw materials ("scheme owners") may apply to have their schemes recognised by the Commission.
Applications referred in the first subparagraph shall contain any relevant evidence related to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Annex IV. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt implementing acts specifying the information that applications shall at least contain. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
2. Where, on the basis of the evidence provided pursuant to the paragraph 1, the Commission determines that a certification scheme meets the criteria laid down in Annex IV, it shall adopt an implementing act granting that scheme a recognition. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
3. The Commission shall periodically verify that recognised schemes continue to fulfil the criteria laid down in Annex IV.
4. Owners of recognised schemes shall inform the Commission without delay of any changes or updates made to recognised schemes. The Commission shall assess whether such changes or updates affect the basis for the recognition and take appropriate action.
5. If there is evidence of repeated or significant cases where economic operators implementing a recognised scheme have failed to fulfil the requirements of that scheme, the Commission shall examine, in consultation with the owner of the recognised scheme, whether those cases indicate deficiencies in the scheme affecting the basis for the recognition and take appropriate action.
6. Where the Commission identifies deficiencies in a recognised scheme affecting the basis for the recognition, it may grant the scheme owner an appropriate period of time to take remedial action.
7. Where the scheme owner fails or refuses to take the necessary remedial action, and where the Commission has determined that the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 6 mean that the scheme no longer fulfils the criteria laid down in Annex IV, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act withdrawing the recognition of the scheme. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
8. The Commission shall establish and keep up-to-date a register of recognised schemes. That register shall be made publicly available on a free access website.
Article 30
Environmental footprint declaration
1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by establishing rules for the calculation and verification of the environmental footprint of different critical raw materials, in accordance with Annex V and taking into account scientifically sound assessment methods and relevant international standards. The calculation and verification rules shall identify which is the most important impact category. The footprint declaration shall be limited to that impact category.
2. The Commission may adopt calculation and verification rules for a specific critical raw material if it has concluded, having considered the various relevant environmental impact categories, that the critical raw material in question has a significant environmental footprint and that therefore an obligation to declare the environmental footprint of that material regarding the most important impact category, when placing it on the market, is necessary and proportionate to contribute to the Union’s climate and environmental objectives by facilitating the supply of critical raw materials with lower environmental footprint.
3. When considering whether the obligation foreseen in paragraph 2 is necessary, the Commission shall take into account:
(a) whether and how the Union’s climate and environmental objectives are already being achieved through other Union legislation applicable to the critical raw material in question;
(b) the existence and uptake of relevant international standards and guidelines, or the prospects of agreeing on such standards at international level, as well as sustainable practices on the market, including the voluntary schemes recognised pursuant to Article 29;
(c) the effectiveness of strategic partnerships, strategic projects, trade agreements and other international instruments and outreach conducted by the Union in achieving the Union’s climate and environmental objectives.
4. The Commission shall conduct a prior assessment of impacts in order to decide whether to adopt a delegated act under paragraph 1. Such assessment shall:
(a) be based, inter alia, on a consultation of:
(i) all relevant stakeholders, such as industry including downstream industry, SMEs and, where relevant, the craft industry, social partners, traders, retailers, importers, environmental protection groups and consumer organisations;
(ii) third countries whose trade with the Union may be significantly affected by this obligation;
(iii) the Board;
(b) ensure that any such measure is not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade and is no more trade-restrictive than necessary to achieve the Union’s climate and environmental objectives, having regard to the ability of third-country suppliers to comply with such a declaration such that aggregate trade flows and critical raw materials costs are not disproportionately affected;
(c) assess whether the measure would contribute to achieving the Union’s climate and environmental objectives without disproportionately impacting the ability of Union industry to source the critical raw material in question.
5. Any natural or legal person that places on the market critical raw materials for which the Commission has adopted calculation and verification rules pursuant to paragraph 1 shall make available an environmental footprint declaration.
The requirement set out in the first subparagraph shall apply to each individual critical raw material type placed on the market and shall not apply to critical raw materials included in intermediate or final products.
6. The environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5 shall contain the following information:
(a) the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address of the responsible natural or legal person and, where available, electronic means of communication where they can be contacted;
(b) information about the critical raw material type for which the declaration applies;
(c) information about the country and region where the critical raw material was extracted, processed, refined and recycled, as applicable;
(d) the environmental footprint of critical raw material, calculated in accordance with the applicable verification and calculation rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1;
(e) the environmental footprint performance class that the critical raw material corresponds to, established in accordance with the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to paragraph 7;
(f) a web link providing access to a public version of the study supporting the environmental footprint declaration results.
7. The Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by establishing environmental footprint performance classes for critical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules have been adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, in accordance with Annex V.
8. The environmental footprint declaration shall be made available on a free access website.
The Commission is empowered to adopt an implementing act establishing the format for the environmental footprint declaration referred to in paragraph 5. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3).
9. When offering critical raw materials for sale, including in case of distance selling, or displaying them in the course of a commercial activity, natural and legal persons placing on the market critical raw materials shall ensure that their customers have access to the environmental footprint declaration before being bound by a sales contract.
Natural and legal persons placing on the market critical raw materials shall not provide or display labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions that are likely to mislead or confuse customers with respect to the information included in the environmental footprint declaration.
Section 3
Free movement, conformity and market surveillance
Article 31
Free movement
1. Member States shall not, for reasons relating to information for recycling or recycled content of permanent magnets or for reasons relating to information on the environmental footprint of critical raw material covered by this Regulation, prohibit, restrict or impede the making available on the market or the putting into service of products incorporating permanent magnets or of critical raw materials that comply with this Regulation.
2. At trade fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations or similar events, Member States shall not prevent the showing of products incorporating permanent magnets or of critical raw materials which do not comply with this Regulation, provided that a visible sign clearly indicates that such products or materials do not comply with this Regulation and that they cannot be made available on the market until they have been brought into conformity.
Article 32
Conformity and market surveillance
1. Before placing a product covered by Article 27 or 28 on the market, the responsible natural or legal persons shall ensure that the applicable conformity assessment procedure has been carried out and that the required technical documentation has been drawn up. Where compliance of a product with the applicable requirements have been demonstrated by the conformity assessment procedure, the responsible natural or legal persons shall ensure that an EU declaration of conformity has been drawn up and the CE marking has been affixed.
2. The conformity assessment procedure for products covered by the requirements set out in Article 27 shall be the procedure set out in Annex IV of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], unless those products are also covered by the requirements set out in Article 28, in which case the conformity assessment procedure shall be the procedure set out in the calculation and verification rules adopted pursuant to Article 28(2).
3. Chapter IX and Articles 37, 38 and 39 of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], as well as the corresponding definitions in Article 2 of that Regulation, shall apply with respect to the requirements applicable to products placed on the Union market laid down in Articles 27 and 28.
4. Regarding market surveillance, the following rules shall apply:
(a) Chapter XII of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], as well as the corresponding definitions in Article 2 of that Regulation, shall apply with respect to the requirements applicable to products placed on the Union market laid down in Articles 27, 28 or 30.
(b) Member States shall, in addition to the ecodesign requirements set under Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], consider the requirements laid down in Articles 27, 28 and 30 in the context of the action plan referred to in Article 59(1) of that Regulation;
(c) Article 60 and 61(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall also apply for the requirements laid down in Articles 27, 28 and 30;
(d) the Commission shall, in addition to the ecodesign requirements set under Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], include information related to the requirements laid down in Articles 27, 28 and 30 in the report referred to in Article 61(2) and (3) of that Regulation;
(e) in implementing Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR], the administrative cooperation group (‘ADCO’) referred to that Article and the Commission shall also take into account the requirements laid down in Articles 27, 28 and 30.
5. For purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4, the relevant parts of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be applied as follows:
(a) references to ‘ecodesign requirements specified in the applicable delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 37(1), ‘requirements laid down in the applicable delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 63(1) and ‘requirements set out in the relevant delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 63(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be read as references to ‘the requirements laid down in Articles Articles 27 and 28 of this Regulation’;
(b) references to ‘product covered by a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 37(3) and 63(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be read as a reference to ‘product or materials covered by the requirements laid down in Arti cles 27 and 28 of this Regulation’;
(c) references to ‘conformity assessment tasks provided for under the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 41 and ‘conformity assessment tasks under the relevant delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 45(10) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be read as a reference to ‘conformity assessment tasks provided for under the calculation and verification rules adopted pursuant to Article 28(2) of this Regulation’;
(d) references to ‘conformity assessment procedures provided for under the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4’ in Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/xxx [OP: please insert reference to ESPR] shall be read as a reference to ‘conformity assessment procedures provided for under the calculation and verification rules adopted pursuant to Article 28(2) of this Regulation’.
6. This Article shall not apply to products covered by type approval under Regulation 2018/858 and Regulation 168/2013.
Chapter 6
Strategic Partnerships
Article 33
Strategic Partnerships
1. The Board shall periodically discuss:
(a) the extent to which Strategic Partnerships concluded by the Union contribute towards:
(i) improving the Union's security of supply;
(ii) the benchmark set out in Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b);
(iii) improving cooperation along the critical raw materials value chain between the Union and partner countries;
(b) the coherence and potential synergies between Member States’ bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries and the actions carried out by the Union in the context of Strategic Partnerships;
(c) which third countries should be prioritised for the conclusion of Strategic Partnerships, taking into account the following criteria:
(i) the potential contribution to security of supply, taking into account a third country's potential reserves, extraction, processing and recycling capacities related to critical raw materials;
(ii) whether a third country's regulatory framework 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;
(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.
(iv) for emerging markets and developing economies, whether and how a partnership could contribute to local value addition and would be mutually beneficial for the partner country and the Union.
2. The Board shall, in the context of paragraph 1 and in so far as relates to emerging market and developing economies, ensure cooperation with other relevant coordination fora, including those established as part of the Global Gateway strategy.
3. Member States shall:
(a) coordinate with the Commission to ensure coherence between their bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries and the Union's non-binding Strategic Partnerships with third countries, whose scope at least includes critical raw materials value chain;
(b) support the Commission in the implementation of the cooperation measures set out in Strategic Partnerships.
Chapter 7
Governance
Article 34
European Critical Raw Materials Board
1. The European Critical Raw Materials Board is established.
2. The Board shall perform the tasks set out in this Regulation.
Article 35
Composition and functioning of the European Critical Raw Materials Board
1. The Board shall be composed of Member States and the Commission. It shall be chaired by the Commission.
2. Each Member State shall appoint a high-level representative to the Board. Where relevant as regards the function and expertise, a Member State may appoint different representatives in relation to different tasks of the Board. Each member of the Board shall have an alternate.
3. The Board shall, on a proposal by the Commission, adopt its rules of procedure by a simple majority of its members.
4. The Board shall meet at regular intervals in order to allow the effective performance of its tasks specified in this Regulation. Where necessary, the Board shall meet at the reasoned request of the Commission.
The Board shall meet at least:
(a) every 3 months for the assessment of applications for Strategic Projects pursuant to Chapter 3, Section 1;
(b) every 6 months for the development of monitoring pursuant to Chapter 4;
(c) once a year in order to discuss the progress of the implementation of Member State obligations linked to exploration set out in Chapter 3, Section 4, including in light of updates to the lists of critical or strategic raw materials.
5. The Commission shall assist the Board by means of an executive secretariat that provides technical and logistical support.
6. The Board may establish standing or temporary sub-groups to deal with specific questions and tasks.
The Board shall at least establish the following standing sub-groups:
(a) a subgroup to discuss and coordinate financing for Strategic Projects pursuant to Article 15; representatives of national promotional banks and institutions, the European development financial institutions, the European Investment Bank Group, other international financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, as appropriate, private financial institutions shall be invited as observers;
(b) a subgroup bringing together national geological institutes or surveys or, in the absence of such institute or survey, the relevant national authority in charge of general exploration, with the purpose of contributing to the coordination of national exploration programmes referred to in Article 18;
(c) a subgroup bringing together national supply and information agencies covering critical raw materials or, in the absence of such agency, the relevant national authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing to the monitoring tasks as set out in Article 19;
(d) a subgroup bringing together national emergency agency and national authorities responsible for strategic stocks or, in the absence of such agency and authority, the relevant national authority in charge of that matter, with the purpose of contributing to the coordination of strategic stocks as set out in Article 22.
7. The Board shall invite representatives of the European Parliament to attend, as observers, its meetings, including of the standing or temporary sub-groups referred to in paragraph 6.
Where appropriate, the Board may invite experts, other third parties or representatives of third countries to attend meetings of the standing or temporary sub-groups referred to in paragraph 6 as observers or to provide written contributions.
In performing its tasks, the Board shall, where appropriate, ensure coordination, cooperation and information exchange with the relevant crisis response and crisis preparedness structures established under Union law.
8. The Board shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safe handling and processing of confidential and commercially sensitive information.
9. The Board shall use its best endeavours to reach consensus.
Chapter 8
Delegated powers and committee procedure
Article 36
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of eight years from [OP please insert: one month after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the six-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. The consultation of Member States' experts shall take place after the consultation pursuant to Article 14.
5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period may be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 37
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the implementation of [OP: please insert reference to this act]. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Chapter 9
Amendments
Article 38
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/1724
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 is amended as follows:
(1) in Annex I, in the first column, a new row ‘S. Critical raw materials projects’ is added.
(2) in Annex I, in the second column, in the row ‘S. Critical raw materials projects’, the following point are added:
‘1. information on the permit-granting process.’
‘2. information on financing and investment services’
‘3. information on funding possibilities at Union or Member State level’
‘4. information on business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax declaration, local tax laws, labour law’
(3) in Annex II, in the first column, a new row ‘Critical raw materials projects’ is added.
(4) in Annex II, in the second column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, the following points are added:
‘Procedure related to all relevant administrative permits to plan, build and operate net-zero technology manufacturing projects, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and environmental assessments and authorisations where these are required, and encompassing all administrative applications and procedures’.
(5) in Annex II, in the third column, in the row ‘Critical raw materials projects’, the following point is added:
‘All outputs pertaining to the procedures ranging from the acknowledgment of the validity of the application to the notification of the comprehensive decision on the outcome of the procedure by the responsible national competent authority’.
(6) in Annex III, the following point is added:
‘(9) The national competent authorities referred to in Article 8(1) of [OP: please insert reference to this proposal]’.
Article 39
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 is amended as follows:
(1) in Article 4(5), the text “(EU) 2016/425(35) and (EU) 2016/426(36)” is replaced by the following: “(EU) 2016/425 (*), (EU) 2016/426 (**) and [(EU) […] [year of adoption of this Regulation]/…(***)];
(2) in Annex I, the following point is added: ‘X [OP please insert the next consecutive number] Regulation (EU)…/… establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 [OP please insert the publication details of this Regulation], in so far as it concerns the requirements set out Articles 27, 28 or 30 of that Regulation.
Article 40
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/858
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:
| [OP Please insert the next consecutive number under heading G] | Permanent magnet circularity requirements | Regulation (EU) XX/XXXX [OP please insert: OJ publication details of this Regulation] | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Article 41
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 168/2013
Annex II to Regulation (EU) 168/2013 is amended as follows:
In Part I, in the table, the following entry is added:
| [OP Please insert the next consecutive number under heading C1] | Permanent magnet circularity requirements | Regulation (EU) XX/XXXX [OP please insert: OJ publication details of this Regulation] | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Chapter 10
Final provisions
Article 42
Monitoring progress
1. The Commission shall, taking into account the advice of the Board, monitor progress towards the objectives set out in Article 1(2) and publish, at least every 3 years, a report detailing the Union’s progress towards achieving those objectives.
The first report shall be drawn up by [OP please insert: 4 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].
2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall include quantitative information on the extent of the Union's progress towards the benchmarks set out in Article 1(2), points (a) and (b).
Article 43
Reporting of Member States
1. Member States shall each year send a report to the Commission containing the information referred to in Article 18(4), Article 20(1) and (2), Article 21(1), Article 22(5) and Article 25(6). The first report shall be sent [OP please insert: one year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts setting out a template for the reports referred to in paragraph 1. The template may indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 37(2).
3. The information contained in the reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall be treated in accordance with Article 44.
Article 44
Treatment of confidential information
1. Information acquired in the course of implementing this Regulation shall be used only for the purposes of this Regulation and shall be protected by the relevant Union and national legislation.
2. Member States and the Commission shall ensure the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive, confidential and classified information acquired and generated in application of this Regulation, including recommendations and measures to be taken, in accordance with Union and the respective national law.
3. Member States and the Commission shall ensure that classified information provided or exchanged under this Regulation is not downgraded or declassified without the prior written consent of the originator.
4. If a Member State assesses that the presentation of aggregated information in the context of Article 21 may nonetheless compromise its national security interest, it may object to the Commission’s presentation through a justified notice.
5. The Commission and the national authorities, their officials, employees and other persons working under the supervision of these authorities shall ensure the confidentiality of information obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities. This obligation also applies to all representatives of Member States, observers, experts and other participants attending meetings of the Board pursuant to Article 35.
Article 45
Penalties
By 12 months after entry into force of the Regulation, Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without delay, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Article 46
Evaluation
1. By [OP please insert: 5 years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation in light of the objectives that it pursues and shall present a report thereon to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the European Economic and Social Committee.
2. The report referred to in paragraph shall at least assess the appropriateness of establishing maximum environmental footprint thresholds for critical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules have been adopted.
Article 47
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.