As Zelensky publicly rebuked the role of European companies like a Russian-owned alumina refinery on Irish soil, Dublin assumes the EU Council presidency under pressure to stop exports to Russia of a key component for its defence sector.
The EU talks partnership. It negotiates extraction. That contradiction is no longer sustainable.
The European Commission is being sued for the first time for granting a lithium mine in Portugal so-called “strategic project” status under the bloc’s Critical Raw Materials Act, allegedly without pursuing sufficient environmental assessments.
As Europe races for green tech, mining projects spark protests from Sweden to Portugal. With China’s dependence looming, is the EU abandoning environmental caution to secure a critical raw materials supply? Does this mean we are observing a shift from a precautionary approach?