Public Consultation on the Preparation of a new Communication on Raw Materials

We welcome that the criteria to define the criticality of raw materials have been made publicly available.

We share the notion that the economic importance of raw materials for key sectors is a crucial aspect in defining criticality. Technological progress will have a significant impact on the future use of raw materials. As technological progress is difficult to predict it will be important to regularly reas‐sess which raw materials are of economic importance. The current raw material consumption by industry sectors cannot be extrapolated into the future. Nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary to evaluate the technological aspects of substituting such elements and materials from which shortage problems can arise in the near future, considering the geological resources and the geographic access.