A partnership of equals?

The briefing paper ‘A partnership of equals?’ assesses the draft Critical Raw Materials Act and related EU policy documents on Strategic Partnerships for raw materials. Fern published it during the EU Raw Materials Week in November 2023, in cooperation with SOMO and other EU Raw Materials Coalition members.

The paper contains several recommendations on Strategic Partnerships that should:

• Include clear, specific measures to tackle illegal and irresponsible mining.
• Support producer countries’ green transition.
• Include measures to reduce the use of Critical Raw Materials.
• Ensure integrity and transparency in the mining sector.

Efforts to analyse Strategic Partnerships are hampered by a lack of transparency in negotiations and an inclusive, deliberative, truly participatory consultation process.

The briefing argues that documents such as reports of negotiations, Memorandum of Understandings, Roadmaps, and impact assessments should be made publicly available and that the mechanisms for providing financial support for Strategic Partnerships should be people-centred and transparent.