Background

Key technologies, from chips and batteries to medical imaging and tanks, rely on the unique physical properties of certain critical raw materials (CRMs), such as silicon metal or tungsten. Demand for CRMs is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, potentially outstripping supply. CRM supply chains are global, complex and fragile, making them vulnerable to a wide range of risks. The CRM Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252) lists 34 CRMs, including 17 strategic raw materials (SRMs), particularly relevant to the green and digital transitions, defence and aerospace. The act aims to strengthen EU supply chains, monitor and mitigate supply risks and improve the sustainability of CRMs consumed in the EU. In December 2025, the Commission presented the RESourceEU action plan to speed up progress towards the CRM Act's objectives, alongside a proposal to amend it.

European Commission proposal

The stated objectives of the proposal are to simplify some provisions of the CRM Act, increase the EU's recycling capacity and strengthen the secondary market for CRMs. The proposed amendments would limit the number of calls for application for strategic projects organised by the Commission to four times per year, and transfer responsibility for identifying large companies that use CRMs to manufacture specific products from the Member States to the Commission. The proposed amendments would also bring hard disk drives, transducers, loudspeakers, drones for civil use and motorised toys within the scope of the provisions aimed at improving the recyclability of permanent magnets.

European Parliament position

ITRE adopted its report on 8 October 2026, with 64 votes in favour, one against and 17 abstentions. It would establish a European CRM Centre as an EU body. The centre would handle 18 categories of tasks, including operating joint purchasing and common‑interest procurement mechanisms; establishing and managing European contingency stocks of CRMs; supporting offtake agreements and matching supply and demand; identifying material‑specific supply chain vulnerabilities; mobilising finance; and providing strategic intelligence, early‑warning indicators and risk analysis. A CRM Forum would promote the sharing of stakeholder expertise.

A European CRM Fund would be established under the future European Competitiveness Fund, with a budget of €2 billion to channel public and private capital into projects reinforcing EU supply chains. The centre would establish an Intelligence Hub to gather and analyse data on CRM markets and value chains.

The report would also require the Commission to set cut‑off dates for applications for recognition as strategic projects at least twice per year. Regarding the recycled content of permanent magnets, delegated acts laying down minimum shares of some CRMs (such as neodymium) would take into account not only post‑consumer waste but also manufacturing waste (rejected materials that cannot be re‑used in the same process and must be recycled). The Council adopted its mandate for negotiations with Parliament in March.