Europe needs more than just rare earths

Germany’s largest mining company supports the European Commission’s initiative to increase Europe’s supply of raw materials. Dr. Christian H. Meyer, CEO of the Kassel-based salt and fertilizer manufacturer K+S, considers the RESourcEU Action Plan an important step in the right direction. However, he believes that the simplifications should benefit the domestic production of all mineral and metallic raw materials, not just so-called critical raw materials.

Last week, the European Commission presented the RESourceEU Action Plan. The plan’s main goal is to improve Europe’s supply of critical raw materials (CRMs), such as rare earths and lithium. In addition to promoting CRM projects, the action plan provides for revising regulatory frameworks and streamlining permit procedures to accelerate raw material projects.

“The European Commission is following up on discussions from EU Raw Materials Week in November. During that event, the European raw materials industry made it clear that environmental regulations often restrict projects for extracting and processing important raw materials. This prevents the urgent availability of those materials,” said K+S CEO Meyer. The action plan is an important step in the right direction. “Permit procedures in Germany and the EU must be accelerated as a matter of urgency. It is unacceptable for the approval of important projects designed to secure our independence to take more than ten years. Countries such as Canada demonstrate that this can be done much more quickly while maintaining high environmental standards. We must significantly speed up the process here. We know the federal government supports this demand because it recognizes the importance of removing bureaucratic obstacles for industry to support domestic raw material production.“

However, Meyer emphasizes the need to reduce bureaucratic obstacles to extracting all mineral and metallic raw materials. “There is no doubt that Europe urgently needs to improve its supply of critical raw materials. We have allowed ourselves to become dangerously dependent in recent decades.” Nevertheless, Europe needs more than just rare earths. “We cannot focus solely on the materials we currently lack. We must also preserve existing production to ensure an independent future.”

The K+S CEO cites several examples of mineral raw materials that are essential for many applications. Potassium fertilizer is essential for ensuring Europe’s food supply. High-purity salt and potassium chloride are also vital for producing medicines and are integral to the production of tens of thousands of products. K+S extracts these minerals in Germany and primarily supplies them to the European market.

Plans to further secure or expand domestic production are often delayed or prevented altogether due to excessive EU regulation. This is where the RESourceEU Action Plan comes in. “If domestic raw material extraction is not quickly relieved of bureaucratic obstacles, Europe risks becoming dependent on other countries,” explains Meyer. “We should all be interested in extracting raw materials here in Germany to secure our independence, and because Germany has the highest standards for environmentally friendly extraction.”

The European Commission plans to present proposals to accelerate permit procedures in the first half of 2026. At the same time, the Commission will present an action plan for domestic fertilizers by midyear to reduce dependence on other countries in this area. Meyer urges adhering to this schedule and following the announcements with substantial simplifications. “Too often, promises have been made to reduce bureaucracy, but little has happened afterwards. If the European Commission is serious about increasing Europe’s security of supply, it must quickly follow words with action. We can count on the support of the federal government, which has set ambitious goals for speeding up the permit procedures for industrial projects,” Meyer summarizes. (K+S/MRG)