INTRODUCTION 1

1. SECURING SUPPLY WITH THE EUROPEAN CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS CENTRE 3

2. PROMOTING AND ACCELERATING PRIORITY PROJECTS 3

2.1. Creating a CRM financing hub to accelerate CRMs projects in the EU and in partner countries 4

2.2. Leveraging the capacity of Member States and regions 6

2.3. Operationalising international partnerships toward concrete projects 7

2.4. Speeding up projects’ delivery 7

3. UNLEASHING THE CIRCULARITY AND INNOVATION POTENTIAL 9

3.1. Keeping CRMs in the EU and recycling the resources already available 9

3.2. Incentivising the recycling of critical raw materials 10

3.3. Stimulating innovation to enable substitution and efficiencies 11

4. INCREASING EUROPEAN DEMAND FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS AND CREATING A LASTING MARKET 12

4.1. Enabling demand aggregation and joint purchasing by European industry 12

4.2. Stimulating CRM diversification by the European industry 13

4.3. Supporting stockpiling to increase European industrial resilience 14

5. PROTECTING THE SINGLE MARKET AND THE RESILIENCE OF THE EU CRMS VALUE CHAIN 15

5.1. Strengthening the monitoring of supply chains and coordinating responses to supply disruptions 15

5.2. Shielding the EU from hostile interference 15

6. PARTNERING WITH THIRD COUNTRIES TO DIVERSIFY 16

6.1. Reinforcing and expanding the EU’s engagement 16

6.2. Building on multilateral initiatives to secure diversified supply 17

CONCLUSION 18