EUROPEAN COMMISSION ENTERPRISE AND INDUSTRY DIRECTORATE-GENERAL. Minutes. Subject: Plenary Meeting of the Raw Material Supply Group (RMSG)

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Minutes Subject: Plenary Meeting of the Raw Material Supply Group (RMSG) Date: 26 th January 2017 Venue: Brussels, BREY, Room 12B Chairperson: Mattia Pellegrini (Head of Unit, DG GROW C2)

1 Minutes Subject: Plenary Meeting of the Raw Material Supply Group (RMSG) Date: 26 th January 2017 Venue: Brussels, BREY, Room 12B Chairperson: Mattia Pellegrini (Head of Unit, DG GROW C2) Attachments: 1. Program 1. Opening: Chairperson introduced the meeting's agenda and informed about latest developments, such as investment platforms with Canada, Latin American countries and South Africa. For the project with Latin American countries the awarded tender was a consortium led by Project Consult (others: DMT, Zabala and Euromines) and the kick-off meeting took place on 23th January In the case of the project with Canada the awarded tender was Ernst&Young with Euromines and Mining Association of Canada as subcontractors. The kick-off meeting took place on 27th February RMSG was invited to support both initiatives, among other by promoting them in respective Member States. Regarding the envisaged dialogue on Raw Materials with Africa, the Interservice Consultations will be launched beginning of February Then, the meeting was informed why the presentation on the 'Guidance on the exploration and exploitation of natural resources on the seabed in areas under national jurisdiction' has been removed. Namely, the General Affairs Council is currently preparing the Conclusions on the Guidance to be adopted on 7th March. A future approach will depend on the Council conclusions. The Representation of the European Union to Colombia asked for information on best practises related social conflicts around mining sites. In this regard, Members of the RMSG were invited to provide examples of best practises to the RMSG Team (action 1). 2. Discussion on RMSG governance It was decided to organise more dedicated RMSG meetings, to allocate more space for discussion, to have less but more specific agenda points and to invite, if necessary, also regional authorities, for example in the area of land use planning or Natura2000. The next RMSG will take place in the autumn 2017 and will be dedicated to the II pillar of RMI (action 2). A specific meeting on technologies, for instance concerning Horizon 2020 or Investment platforms, could be organised later in 2017 (action 3). The RMSG will receive a link to the interactive map on locations of Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 beneficiaries (action 4). 1

2 3. Overview of EU legislative issues of concern to the extractive industry (Euromines) After the presentation a discussion took place. The Chairman mentioned that few presented points on legislation are already out of the European Commission. A link to the Cumulative Costs Assessments will be shared with the RMSG (action 5). 4. Information on Technical High School for Raw Material Technology (Austria) After the presentation few questions were posed. Responding to questions, AT informed that the school's format is unique in Europe and it could be easily applied in other countries. The training considers entire value chain, including recycling. Regarding gender balance, more could be done in the future. The School cooperates with the University of Leoben which is a member of KIC RM. 5. Information on conflict minerals state of play (DG TRADE) The presentation was followed by a discussion. The chairmen informed about the envisaged study 'SME due diligence' aiming at designing a comprehensive SME due diligence support system to: 1) contribute to achieving the objectives of the (forthcoming) Regulation setting up a Union system for supply chain due diligence self-certification of responsible importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, 2) limit and/or offset the administrative burden imposed on SMEs by the EU legislation on conflict minerals and 3) provide SMEs with due diligence capacity to remain competitive in increasingly conflict-free global supply chains. Eurometaux requested explanations regarding the 100kg threshold for gold. Norway stressed the importance of thresholds and exemptions for small volumes. Greece enquired why the legislative process is so long? TRADE informed that many elements, such thresholds for gold, are the result of compromises between the Council and the PE, as the Council prefers a voluntary scheme and the PE a mandatory one. Year 2021 to implement the regulation is realistic, as the EC is still waiting on the OECD report on criteria to be issued in May

3 6. Report by the International Resource Panel on "Mineral Resource Governance for Sustainable Development: Assessment of the Extractive Industry for Improved Social and Environmental Outcomes" (UN Environment). After the presentation, EFG expressed its scepticism regarding feasibility of decoupling resources use from a growing demand. NL has been exploring a link between energy and resources, what might be a topic for the next RMSG(action 6). After a discussion it was agreed that the RMSG will receive a consultation paper 'Towards a Sustainable Development Licence to Operate in the Extractive Sector', which describes the imperative for and identifies the elements of a new multi-level holistic governance framework to enhance the contribution of the mining sector towards the Sustainable Development Goals' (follow the link to the report).the RMSG will be invited to participate in the 1 st consultation process taking place in the first half of 2017 (action 7). Moreover, to improve synergies between the International Resource Panel's report and the Raw Materials Initiative, the European Commission will exchange information with UN Environment on Raw Materials Initiative, available data on Raw Materials in the context of the Raw Materials Scoreboard, Horizon 2020 calls and relevant EIP RM commitments (action 8). MSs were encouraged to cooperate within the H2020 WP call on Sustainable Mining and Metallurgy regions. Netherlands proposed to discuss during the next RMSG meeting a link between the energy transition and resource efficiency (action 9). 7. Information on Raw Materials Scoreboard (DG GROW) No questions/comments were raised by the RMSG after the presentation. 8. The circular economy monitoring framework (DG GROW) Several RMSG expressed their concerns about certain Eurostat statistics (e.g. inconsistencies, limited coverage). Several delegates also emphasised the need to cover the macro-trends towards a circular economy and warned against possible misleading messages due to lack of better data. DG GROW announced that there will be a dedicated RMSG meeting on the topic, at which the technical details will be discussed (action 10). 3

4 9. More From Less material resource efficiency in Europe - overview of resource efficiency and material use policies in 32 European countries (European Environment Agency) The presentation was followed by a discussion. Sweden mentioned that resource productivity indicator is challenging and should be improved. Currently, its highest efficiency can be assured by closing mines. Austria stressed that because of the European climate, construction sector uses more raw materials. Germany added that sectors are country-specific. According to the presented definition, improving material resource efficiency cannot be done without mining, constructing and smelting. EEA informed that the report will be updated in The draft report might be checked by MSs. 10. Information on Criticality Assessment 2017 (Lidia Godlewska, DG GROW) No questions/comments were raised by the RMSG after the presentation. 11. Raw Materials Information System Towards version 2.0 (JRC) Regarding information on mineral deposits in Europe, Austria enquired how industry had been consulted? JRC responded that that first consultation of industry is taking place on th March 2017 at the RMIS workshop and close interactions will then follow. Euromines stated that the sustainability after mining closure is a weakness of H2020, what could be addressed by JRC. EASME added that the requirement of sustainability could be considered within RMIS. It was agreed that JRC will inform the RMSG on developments of the RMIS, including outcomes of the workshop it will hold on March 13/14th. It was recommended that JRC present the RMIS at future RMSG meetings. (action 11). 4

5 12. AOB The chairman informed that the Raw Materials Week will take place in 6 th 10 th November EFG mentioned BREF document on extractive waste and proposed the issue as a topic for the next RMSG. UEPG would like to have discussion on Minlex before publishing it and supported organising Raw Materials Week in Chairman commented that Minlex will be discussed during the next RMSG meeting in the context of II Pillar. Regarding the BREF document on extractive, while it is very important, perhaps it should be not discussed within the RMSG, unless JRC in Sevilla and ENV have a good reason to do so. Namely, JRC still works on that document. Due to contractual limitations further consultations on Minlex are no more feasible. Afterwards, the meeting was closed. 5

SEAS-ERA STRATEGIC FORUM

Arnoldas Milukas Head of Unit DG Research & Environment Directorate Horizon 2020 The EU Framework Programme for 2014-2020 2 nd SEAS-ERA STRATEGIC FORUM Brussels 6 th of February 2013 EU Research policy