Today’s General Assembly of the Critical Chemicals Alliance, clearly showed the significant progress that has been made on a complex topic in a relatively short period of time. Over the past year, the Alliance has delivered important work, including a methodology to identify critical molecules and sites, enhanced monitoring of import surges, recommendations to strengthen Europe’s trade defence toolkit, proposals to support the modernisation of existing industrial assets and maintain critical production in Europe, and measures to create market demand for low-carbon and circular products.
Sylvie Lemoine, Deputy Director General of Cefic, said:
“The Critical Chemicals Alliance has shown what can be achieved when everyone around this crucial sector, industry, value chains, Member States, regions, and policymakers, work together around a shared objective. We would like to thank Executive Vice-President Séjourné, as well as the French and Dutch governments, for their leadership in bringing this initiative forward. A tremendous amount of work has been delivered in a short period of time. The diagnosis is clear and the recommendations are on the table. What matters now is implementation. We ask the European Commission to take these results, make clear policy choices and take the next steps even before the year end.“
The work done provides a strong basis for action. Looking ahead, the Critcial Chemicals Alliance should evolve from an analytical exercise into an implementation network with a mechanism for tracking progress.
The Commission should ensure that the Alliance’s findings are reflected in upcoming Commission initiatives such as the Biotech Act II, Circular Economy Act, Industrial Accelerator Act and the ETS reform, while taking ownership of the identified list of critical molecules and production sites. The draft list of critical molecules is not a definitive list of chemicals deemed critical to Europe. It is the outcome of a first pilot application of the methodology and should serve as a starting point for further analysis, refinement and validation as the Alliance moves into the implementation phase.
At the same time, Member States and regions should work with industry on modernisation plans that can help unlock investment and EU funding for both basic chemicals and specialty chemicals. Further work is also needed to strengthen market demand for critical chemicals and the value chains that depend on them.
The next phase should focus on delivering solutions and monitoring results, helping to ensure that Europe’s critical chemical value chains remain strong, innovative and globally competitive.