Policy recommendations

  • The European Union should allow ACP countries to maintain their sovereignty and policy space in relation to the appropriate use of their own natural resources. They should be able to use investment regulations, tariff barriers and export restrictions to promote equitable, local and sustainable economic development.
  • The European Commission through its development policy should stimulate resource-rich developing countries to implement their own industrial policies, to protect their infant industries by using legitimate barriers to trade, and by introducing environmental measures. This should allow resource-rich developing countries to move up the value chain, so that the added value to (semi) processed products will remain in the country of origin and would thus stimulate economic development.
  • Within its development budget the EU should allocate sufficient resources to the building of energy and environmental infrastructure to enable developing countries to stimulate economic development.
  • The EU should use its political and economic power to set clear rules in relation to the extraction of raw materials. Like suggested in the February 2011 RMI update an EU code of conduct for EU companies operating in third countries should be developed and measures should be taken to enforce such a code of conduct.
  • In order to provide for more transparency in the supply chain and to minimize the role of European companies in fuelling conflicts over resources, the EU should implement Country by Country reporting, following the US example of the Dodd Frank Act.
  • Within the EPA negotiations the EU should be more flexible as suggested in the RMI update and make sure developing countries can demonstrate the use of export taxes as a policy tool and therefore keep using them.
  • In all policy initiatives and actions elaborated on the basis of the strategy laid down in the Raw Materials Initiative that affect developing countries, DG Development should be closely involved, and ACP partner countries and civil society organisations should be consulted.

 

 

Case: Raw Materials Initiative

24-02-2011 MEP Patriciello concerned about waste disposal and raw materials

Fair Politics follows the EUs Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) and the incoherence between this initiative and the  EUs development policy (see our case study on the RMI). In its new communication which was published at the beginning of February, the Commission is taking some steps in the right direction as it points to the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, combined with the creation of a sound investment climate as one of the main drivers of growth in Africa. Nevertheless the good suggestions made like for instance the possibility of introducing Country by Country reporting, and investigating the policy goals of export resrictions, will still need to be put into practice The European Union, as Africas most important trading partner and donor of development aid, should help lift developing countries out of poverty by investing in the sustainable management of their natural resources, in good governance and in promoting sound financial management.

Together with sustainable exploitation management, also waste disposal should be addressed like was done by MEP Aldo Patriciello (EPP). He says that to lessen environmental impact it is essential to scale down the use of non-renewable raw materials and create alternative sources, such as those obtainable from waste-disposal. Currently this is not happening to the required degree yet, as recycling systems are inadequate and waste-management happens sometimes illegally. MEP Patriciello also mentions that currently each citizin consumes on averge 16 tonnes of resources, of which 3.5 tonnes are imported, and that of this only 2% is being recycled. It is very good to address the need of proper waste management, as it would decrease the amount of exploitation in developing countries, which would allow developing countries to start adding value to their natural resources themselves. Instead of simply staying net exporters. There is definitiely a strong link between waste management and the exploitation of natural resources, therefore we encoucrage MEP Patriciello to also take EUs development policy in account.

For his efforts for raising this issue, MEP Patriciello will be awarded one point in our monitoring system.

Monitor fair: EPP

Parliamentary questions
E-000989/2011
9 February 2011
WRITTEN QUESTION, by Aldo Patriciello (PPE)

Subject: Finding raw materials and waste disposal
To lessen environmental impact it is essential to scale down the use of non-renewable raw materials and create alternative sources, such as those obtainable from proper waste disposal. Unfortunately, this is at present not happening to the degree required, because recycling systems are inadequate and waste management is in some cases taking place illegally.
To quote some figures, every citizen consumes an average of 16 tonnes of resources, of which 3.5 tonnes, on average, are imported; computers and mobile phones (a substantial portion of global output) are made using gold, silver, and palladium, but the proportion recycled is regrettably just 2%; and when cars are scrapped, dismantling for recycling purposes is not an option that is taken into consideration.
Beyond certain standard-setting acts such as Directive 2008/98/EC, which requires waste management to be organised on a sound, balanced footing in accordance with the polluter pays principle, or the WEEE Directive, which applies to electrical appliances and is intended to combat CO2 emissions, the Commission has not taken significant steps to tackle the problem.
Critical raw materials, that is to say, rare earth elements, are found not in the EU, but in other parts of the world; and the rise in the EUs population, its growing prosperity, and the higher number of Member States have led to increased use of resources of this type.
Parliament is making various attempts to find a solution, for instance by setting up discussion panels with internationally prominent guests who offer their specialist expertise to help work out alternative approaches to the exploitation of resources.
1. Does the Commission not believe that partnership agreements common to all 27 Member States should be negotiated with the main exporters of critical raw materials so as to guarantee secure supplies at favourable prices?
2. Does it not consider it imperative to enforce Community legislation to make Member States take responsibility for waste disposal, not least with a view to stamping out illegal waste management?