The European Union is taking new steps to reduce its dependence on imports of critical minerals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the creation of a European Critical Raw Materials Corporation, aimed at procuring and stockpiling strategic materials essential for European industry and security.
In her annual address to the European Parliament, Von der Leyen notes that the Union remains overly dependent on third countries, particularly China. According to her, dependence on China exceeds 80 percent for a large number of critical raw materials, while for certain rare earth metals, it reaches as high as 90 percent.
Copper from the Ilovica-Shtuka deposit is among the critical raw materials available in Macedonia, making this resource part of the broader European discussion on strategic independence and security of supply.
Previously, some European think tanks called for candidate countries from the Western Balkans to be invited to participate actively in the EU’s critical minerals policies. As yet, there is no official invitation; however, Macedonia cannot currently claim to be extracting large quantities of critical minerals, despite possessing them. Antimony reserves are currently being explored, but the greatest prospect for the extraction of critical raw materials lies in the confirmed copper deposit at Ilovica.