Berendsen calls the initiative very late, but adds that it is essential to start it, given the very strong dependence on China. “We need to reduce that dependency as quickly as possible.” According to Berendsen, Von der Leyen’s plan consists of a broad package of measures to reduce dependency and concerns greater cooperation with crucial partners to better source raw materials.
This does not only concern the United States, but also countries such as Canada, Norway and Chile with the aim of jointly managing raw material flows and, for example, investing in mining infrastructure. But, says Berendsen, Europe must also be ready to get its hands dirty. Because European soil also contains key raw materials. Winning is ‘dirty and harmful’. Finally, there should be more attention to the circular economy: “There is a lot to do”.
According to industrial ecologist Benjamin Sprecher, von der Leyen has a list that includes “nearly the entire periodic table.” ‘Metals crucial for the energy transition, for military purposes, all metals through which electricity passes, lithium, cobalt.’
While other commodities are involved, Sprecher says Europe’s dependence on China is many times greater than it is on Russia. And then it’s not just about minerals, it’s also about refining those minerals into usable chemicals, this is also happening largely in China. “If China stops it, we will be flat.”
Strategic thinking
Berendsen mentions the initiative of Joe Biden, who also presented a huge package that, according to Europeans, upsets the level playing field. According to Berendsen, however, the United States thinks strategically and Europe should do the same. Indeed, the United States wants Europe to join them.
According to Berendsen, Europe has for too long naively believed in market forces, and through that vehicle countries like Russia and China ‘automatically adopt our values’. Nothing turned out to be less true. ‘We have left too much to the market, it is time for governments, companies and knowledge institutions to join forces, because now we are losing ground. It is important that Member States get to work.”
Also look at the Chinese influence in the ports
Berendsen points out that this does not only concern the procurement of raw materials, but also concerns the purchased interests that China has, for example, in European ports. ‘These are public interests, you have to look at them in a different way.’ MEP supports easing of EU rules on state aid to innovate. According to him, countries that don’t have the money to invest should be compensated. He claims to invest money in European companies; towards a “Made in EU” label.