Consultation Response - EU Critical Raw Materials Center

Input Paper to the Call for Evidence for an Impact Assessment regarding a European Critical Raw Materials Center

The Technology Industries of Sweden (Teknikföretagen) and the Swedish Security and Defence Industry Association (SOFF) welcome the initiative to establish a center for critical raw materials and consider it strategically important in order to strengthen the EU’s economic security and competitiveness in an increasingly complex geopolitical context. With rising geoeconomic competition and weaponization of dependencies, there is an urgent need to strengthen security of supply, resilience to trade disruptions and deterrence to economic coercion. Recent export control measures on critical minerals (including rare earth elements) and permanent magnets demonstrate that security of supply can be affected not only by physical shortages but also by geopolitical decisions. Future EU measures therefore need to strengthen resilience against politically motivated export restrictions.
While supportive of the initiative, it is important to consider the complexity of industrial production networks when designing policy measures in order for it to be successful. Our member companies develop technologies identified as critical to the EU’s economic security and collective security and defense interests. For defence companies, security of supply is not only an industrial competitiveness issue but also directly linked to national security and the ability of Member States to build, sustain and support military capability over decades. Long-life defence systems require secure access to critical materials throughout their entire life cycle, including maintenance, upgrades and spare parts.