”My concern (…) is that, over time, we will inexorably become less prosperous, less equal, less secure and, as a result, less free to choose our destiny.”
Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank and Prime Minister of Italy, expressed these words as he delivered The Future of European Competitiveness report. In his report, Draghi examines the challenges faced by the industry and companies within the EU.
Although the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine might take some of the blame, the harsh truth is that Europe’s productivity performance has been lagging for many years, compared to the US. Real disposable income has grown almost twice as much in the US as in the EU since 2000, per capita.
One of the three areas for action to reignite growth, according to the report, is by increasing security and reducing dependencies.
Europe was the largest producer of minerals 150 years ago. Today, Europe only produces a small percentage of its own consumption and heavily relies on imports, often from countries with lax health, security, and environmental standards. China is the dominant global supplier of many minerals and metals, while the Democratic Republic of Congo provides over 60 percent of the world’s cobalt production.
The above-mentioned area for action aligns with the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which came into force in May 2024. The CRMA aims to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of critical raw materials through partnerships and increased domestic capacity.
While marine mineral resources may provide the Union with some of the raw materials needed for its industry and the green and digital shift, and aid the EU in reducing dependencies on certain countries, the EU Commission’s stance on deep-sea mining is in short that more knowledge is needed before any extraction may commence.
It has previously asked its member countries to support a moratorium – a pause – until the effects mining may have on marine ecosystems have become more evident.
The Commission expressed its concern in writing when the Parliament in Norway voted to open for deep sea minerals activities early in 2024 (although it noted that the formal opening does not automatically approve extraction activities).
Furthermore, in the CRMA document, the Commission gave the following statement on deep-sea minerals:
“In line with the precautionary principle, the Commission should not recognize deep-sea mining projects as Strategic Projects before the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine environment, biodiversity, and human activities are sufficiently researched, the risks are understood and technologies and operational practices are capable of demonstrating that the environment is not seriously harmed.”
The EU competitiveness report says:
“The EU should also carefully explore the potential of environmentally-sustainable deep sea mining: estimates suggest that the sea bed holds large multiples of the known land-based reserves for example for copper, titanium, manganese, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements.”
The findings of the report will contribute to the Commission’s work on a new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness.
Although the report is cautious, and certainly brief, in its discussion on marine minerals, some may interpret it as supportive – or at least open to the idea – of deep-sea mining as a potential source for critical minerals.
We should probably not expect that the report will lead to an immediate shift in the Commission’s stance on the subject. Still, serves as a reminder that deep-sea minerals may enable the EU’s green transition, support future European industrial production, and reduce the union’s dependency on critical materials imports.
Perhaps the recommendations will lead to an acceleration in knowledge-gathering, including increased funding for projects that study deep-sea ecosystems and the potential impacts of various stressors on them. As of mid-2023, the EU had already invested over 80 million euros in such research.