Joint Statement by Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and the  European Commissioner for Internal Market   

July 19, 2021                                               Ottawa, Ontario                                Natural Resources Canada                   

Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., and the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, released the following joint statement on the framework for Canada-EU Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials.

“The security of supply chains for the minerals and metals essential to the transition to a carbon-neutral and digitized economy is a priority for both Canada and the European Union.

Through this strategic partnership, developed jointly between Natural Resources Canada and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, we will focus on enhancing the security and sustainability of trade and investment, integrating raw material value chains and leading by example on environmental, social and governance standards.

Today, we discussed the initial deliverables under the partnership, which include:

• developing critical raw material projects in Canada and the EU;
• aligning European and Canadian financial support for critical mineral projects to leverage and de-risk private investments;
• exploring opportunities for prize-based innovation challenges on mining critical raw materials from waste sources;
• advancing best practices for resource classification and mapping, including mapping mineral potential from waste sources; and
• organizing a joint Tracing Net-Zero Battery Minerals event to support research and innovation.

Established within the mandate of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), we are proud that this partnership will create opportunities for businesses and jobs for workers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Canada and Europe have a long history of cooperation. Through this strategic partnership, we are joining forces to tackle strategic dependencies, build critical minerals and metals value chains, boost our competiveness in global markets and develop the clean technologies needed.

We look forward to advancing the work underway to develop more resilient, integrated supply chains and position Canada and the European Union at the forefront of the transition to a net-zero emissions and digitized economy.”