On Sunday it is time for the EU elections and a current issue within the EU is the new regulation on critical raw materials.
The EU must increase the self-sufficiency of the strategically important raw materials required for the green transition and in December the European Parliament voted through the new mineral law “Critical raw materials act”, which came into force in May.
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The Minerals Act makes it easier to start up new mines or open up old closed mines to extract minerals that are used in, for example, mobile phones and batteries where the EU is currently dependent on imports from China in particular.
“Can move reindeer husbandry”
The right side voted for the mineral law, while the Green Party and the Left Party voted against. The parties are now expressing different strategies to reduce opposition to mines in the reindeer industry.
– I could imagine, for example, that you would work with – if you need to open a new mine in a place where there is reindeer husbandry – that you could then move the reindeer husbandry and compensate for it in order to be able to appease both parties and get produce the best possible results from both perspectives, says Alice Teodorescu Måwe (KD) and continues:
– Because it is really two different perspectives that meet, but the Sámi have the right to their culture and we must protect it,
Jonas Sjöstedt (V) disagrees with the right side.
– We want to tighten the mineral policy, for example, when it comes to consideration of reindeer husbandry, environmental effects, returns and not exploiting our world heritage. It shouldn’t be the case that you come to Sweden and mine minerals, leave here and leave big wounds in nature behind, he says.
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