October 26, 2026

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October 26, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Medical Devices Regulation Reform Faces 800 AmendmentsBaltic Sea Fishing Quotas For 2027 Split Herring And CodCOP17 Biodiversity Talks Put EU Nature Pledges To The TestECB Succession Race Opens As Schnabel Seat Heads To EU LeadersSerbia EU Accession Talks Get A Fresh Start After Student List WinBangladesh Partnership Agreement Meets Graduation With Open QuestionsMexico Trade Agreement Needs Two Formal Notices Before Duties DropCentral Asia Connectivity Platform Courts Tashkent And AstanaLobito Corridor Tests Whether Europe Can Secure Critical MineralsMalaysia Trade Pact Timeline Slides To June 2027 As Chips LoomThailand Free Trade Agreement Hinges On Rice, Chicken And TunaHungarian Revolution Anniversary Draws Costa To Budapest ParliamentRecycling Claims On Plastic Bottles Face Tighter EU ScrutinyCommission Scraps Solar Glass Duties On Chinese Imports After 12 YearsCommon Fisheries Policy Reform Splits Fishers And Eco GroupsCosta Opens Bilateral Talks On EU Own Resources Before SummitEU-Türkiye High-Level Meeting Aims to Reboot Cyprus TalksStrait of Hormuz Diplomacy Finds Istanbul Before It Finds BrusselsFrozen EU Funds for Hungary Thaw After Magyar ReformsQuality Jobs Act Narrows to One Text as Ministers Weigh InMedical Devices Regulation Reform Faces 800 AmendmentsBaltic Sea Fishing Quotas For 2027 Split Herring And CodCOP17 Biodiversity Talks Put EU Nature Pledges To The TestECB Succession Race Opens As Schnabel Seat Heads To EU LeadersSerbia EU Accession Talks Get A Fresh Start After Student List WinBangladesh Partnership Agreement Meets Graduation With Open QuestionsMexico Trade Agreement Needs Two Formal Notices Before Duties DropCentral Asia Connectivity Platform Courts Tashkent And AstanaLobito Corridor Tests Whether Europe Can Secure Critical MineralsMalaysia Trade Pact Timeline Slides To June 2027 As Chips LoomThailand Free Trade Agreement Hinges On Rice, Chicken And TunaHungarian Revolution Anniversary Draws Costa To Budapest ParliamentRecycling Claims On Plastic Bottles Face Tighter EU ScrutinyCommission Scraps Solar Glass Duties On Chinese Imports After 12 YearsCommon Fisheries Policy Reform Splits Fishers And Eco GroupsCosta Opens Bilateral Talks On EU Own Resources Before SummitEU-Türkiye High-Level Meeting Aims to Reboot Cyprus TalksStrait of Hormuz Diplomacy Finds Istanbul Before It Finds BrusselsFrozen EU Funds for Hungary Thaw After Magyar ReformsQuality Jobs Act Narrows to One Text as Ministers Weigh In

CRMA Strategic Projects List Adds 46 Sites Across 16 Member States

Edon Zhegrova
Legislative Tracker, Economic Security

Brussels: The European Commission added 46 new CRMA strategic projects across 16 member states on 9 October 2026, and the second list lifts the Critical Raw Materials Act portfolio to 106 projects, 93 of them inside the EU. Companies behind the new sites need about 21.1 billion euros in public and private capital. The Commission chose them from 102 applications.

The projects cover recycling, processing and extraction in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Nineteen of the 46 are recycling projects, 11 are processing sites, eight are mines and eight combine two stages of the supply chain. Copper appears in 19 projects, and nickel, cobalt and lithium feature in 12, 10 and 7 respectively.

The label matters because it speeds up paperwork. Permit-granting for a strategic project may take no more than 27 months for extraction and 15 months for other projects, and the status helps promoters attract financing. The CRMA strategic projects also gain priority treatment in national administrations.

The first cohort shows what the status can deliver. Of the projects picked in 2025, 25 have completed environmental impact assessments, 17 hold construction permits and 22 have made significant progress on offtake agreements. More than 2 billion euros has flowed from the Innovation Fund, state aid and the European Investment Bank.

The legal targets set the direction. By 2030 the EU wants to extract at least 10 percent of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials, process 40 percent and recycle 25 percent, while limiting dependence on any single non-EU country to 65 percent. The Commission says the portfolio could meet the extraction benchmark for several key materials and the processing goal for lithium and rare earths.

Why does the label matter to investors? Banks and funds read it as a signal that the Commission has screened the technical and environmental case. A list of CRMA strategic projects therefore works as a pipeline for public and private money, even though the status guarantees neither funding nor a permit. Promoters of CRMA strategic projects still need a national licence for every site.

Several steps follow. The Commission plans further projects in third countries and overseas territories later in 2026, and it will open another call for applications towards the end of the year. It is also preparing a Critical Raw Materials Centre, and President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a European Corporation for Critical Raw Materials.

The real test starts after the announcement. Investors will watch whether national permitting bodies keep to the deadlines, and whether the latest CRMA strategic projects reach a final investment decision before the end of the decade.

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