https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/eus-critical-r...

https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/eus-critical-raw-materials-act-will-need-better-financial-support-say-industry-experts/
date stamps says 11 hours ago:

Mining output targets

One of the big questions for Europe in the CRMA is how to hit the magic number of 10% for the EU’s own mining output, which currently supplies 3% of consumption.

France, Italy and Germany announced earlier this year that they are planning to raise €2.5 billion in initial funding to support private resource projects, but financiers say there also needs to be a fundamental shift in thinking.

An EU board has been set up to oversee the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, and it is starting to consider projects for funding, including for new mining in Europe.

“We had the first wave of applications coming in. We are now selecting the projects,” says Hildegard Bentele, German MEP and Member ITRE Committee of the European Parliament, who was instrumental in negotiating the CRMA and now sits on the CRMA Board. “We did the paperwork, we set the framework, we did the legislation, and now it's about implementation.”

The Board is working on the shortening of permit procedures for new mining projects, coordination across the EU to share know-how and resources, and ways to create better access to finance.

The initial expectation was that there would have been 40-50 applications for project funding, but according to MEP Hildegard Benetele, there were 170.

“The application phase was fast, and it was just prolonged by about a month because of the huge amount of applications,” she said in Brussels. “Economy is about psychology, and we have to now be more assertive and more optimistic that we can do it.”