European Commissioner reveals which critical raw materials interest EU in Ukraine and when cooperation will begin
The European Union and Ukraine may launch a series of projects on critical raw materials as early as March 2025, with the EU particularly interested in a project for extracting Ukrainian graphite.
As reported by a European Pravda correspondent in Brussels, European Commissioner for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné said that joint projects with Ukraine could begin as soon as next month, as a relevant agreement was signed long before the war.
"We already have several projects that could be considered European, some of which we could launch as early as March. But this is not a new agreement. There is already an existing agreement," Séjourné said.
He stated that the EU "already has an agreement with Ukraine on raw materials, and, by the way, we signed it long before the war."
This refers to the Memorandum of Understanding from 2021, which, as Séjourné stated, "sets the conditions for this agreement, which is a mutually beneficial deal with the Ukrainians."
"The question we were asked [during the visit of the European Commission delegation to Ukraine – ed.] was whether we should implement this agreement. And the response I gave to the Ukrainian government at the roundtable with my Commission colleagues was positive," Séjourné said, detailing his negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities this week.
"Based on this agreement, we can build partnerships, including very specific projects, such as graphite, which could potentially account for up to 10% of Europe's graphite consumption by 2030.
We will make several announcements in March when I unveil the raw materials plan, including the first extractions and the Commission’s designation of certain projects submitted to us. But there is already an agreement between Ukrainians and Europeans, and even beyond this agreement, there are very concrete projects that will be implemented," Séjourné said.
On 24 February, Séjourné stated that he proposed a mutually beneficial agreement on Ukraine’s critical minerals to Ukrainian officials during his visit to the city of Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
However, on 25 February, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier stated that Ukraine had not received a proposal from the European Union for a new mutually beneficial agreement on Ukrainian critical minerals during the visit of the College of Commissioners to Kyiv on 24 February, as the partnership in this area between Ukraine and the EU is already ongoing.
US President Donald Trump has stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to arrive in Washington on Friday, 28 February, for a personal meeting. He has said a deal on mineral extraction may be signed during the talks.