EU must be 'stronger, bolder, faster' on Ukraine minerals, key MEP says

As president Volodymyr Zelenskyy headed for Washington to ink a woody connected entree to Ukrainian earthy materials successful speech for arsenic yet unspecified enactment from the US, Euronews asked Dutch MEP Thijs Reuten astir the cardinal geopolitical improvement arsenic Russia's warfare connected the EU's eastbound neighbour enters its 4th year.

Euronews: Are you acrophobic astir the evident effort by the Trump medication to musculus retired different partners and unafraid entree to Ukraine’s mineral wealth, contempt the EU and Ukraine having signed a strategical concern woody successful 2021, arsenic Commission vice-président Stéphane Séjourné recalled this week?

Thijs Reuten: Trump’s attack to Ukraine leaves overmuch to beryllium desired, including the delusional blackmail successful narration to earthy materials that Trump attempted. I americium gladsome that Europe has continued to basal side-by-side with Ukraine and its leadership, enabling it to negociate with the Trump medication connected fairer presumption and conditions.

Russian imperial aggression means that this woody successful signifier is worthless without information guarantees for Ukraine.

Is determination a information a bilateral US-Ukraine woody could person implications for the EU’s ambition to summation proviso chains to affable countries, and could it impact Ukraine’s accession to the EU?

Ukraine understands that its narration with Europe is simply a long-lasting partnership, not based connected a Europe-First policy. The EU is anxious for Ukraine to go a subordinate of the EU and is consenting to put successful the country’s system due to the fact that it benefits Ukraine and Europe. So no, this woody does not endanger Ukraine’s EU accession.

More broadly, bash you consciousness that planetary contention for captious minerals is intensifying, and bash you deliberation it could substance further geopolitical tension, oregon adjacent war?

The planetary contention for captious minerals, and much broadly earthy resources specified arsenic robust oregon adjacent potable water, has been intensifying and driving conflicts for the past decades. My fearfulness is that Trump, Putin and Jinping are each excessively anxious to instrumentality to a power-based bid portion throwing distant the planetary rules-based bid that has acted arsenic the guardrails for this competition. In Ukraine, erstwhile again Europe witnesses first-hand the sorrow that specified authorities bring.

What tin the EU bash to guarantee some contiguous stableness and aboriginal entree to captious minerals? Does the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act stay acceptable for purpose, oregon volition it request to beryllium adjusted to the processing caller governmental reality?

The EU needs to beryllium stronger, bolder, faster and much courageous, but not astatine the disbursal of our principles. Our principles and deficiency of treble standards should beryllium our unsocial selling constituent – it is what makes the EU a desirable partner. We bash not blackmail, strangle oregon extort different actors, but dainty them fairly, arsenic partners. For example, portion we cannot depart from biology standards, quality rights and antiauthoritarian processes successful narration to the mining of captious earthy materials, we should beryllium consenting to afloat enactment these – politically, financially and technically.