Open but Secure Europe%E2%80%99s Path to Strategic Interdependence 2025

and decarbonization, while avoiding a wasteful and divisive free-for-all. The deal should, among other things, establish special permits for ramping-up green technology production facilities to expedite their construction. These would enable companies to grow much faster and, in the process, reduce the costs of their products and make them more competitive in the global marketplace. A similar policy toolbox would allow Europe to speed up the urgent process of modernizing and expanding its energy grid infrastructure. Here, a thorough review of regulation regarding land use and local energy infrastructure development should help accelerate the deployment of renewables. The concentration of CRM extraction and refining in one country poses a significant risk to Europe. The EU’s CRM Act rightly aims to boost domestic mining, refining and recycling, but the bloc remains CRM-poor and will continue to rely on imports. There are nonetheless several steps it can take to secure access to CRMs for its green industries. The EU should establish a CRM reserve – inspired by the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve – as a buffer against supply disruptions. It could do so partly through joint EU-level purchasing. The mechanism could be opened to EU partners such as Switzerland, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom. More importantly, the EU should strike new partnerships with resource-rich countries. That means overcoming the trust deficit in many developing economies – a deficit that has grown in light of Europe’s handling of COVID-19 vaccines, ongoing difficulties with development and climate finance, perceived green neo-colonialism with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the anticipated impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). To achieve this, the EU should revamp its Global Gateway initiative to offer more than rebadged budgets and an overly optimistic reliance on private finance. It should help partner countries move up the value chain, for example by investing in cobalt refining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It should also engage with emerging economies to help them adapt to the EUDR and CBAM. Some politicians suggest that Europe can seek competitiveness and sovereignty through lowering climate ambitions. That would be a dead end. The European Green Deal is the continent’s greatest asset, providing certainty for green businesses by guaranteeing growing demand for their products. It evokes China’s EV success, which owes much to policies accelerating the switchover and thus driving domestic demand. Delaying Europe’s 2035 phase- out of internal combustion engines would have the opposite effect, making it harder for automakers to invest in EV production. If Europe can avoid such pitfalls and pursue a strategically interdependent green transition — expanding domestic production wherever possible and investing in secure, diversified partnerships where not — it can find a balance between openness and resilience that will serve it well. In a nutshell, the EU has to rebalance the triangle between sustainability, competitiveness and security. The Green Deal is Europe’s greatest asset – but the EU has to rebalance the triangle between sustainability, competitiveness and security. Summary of recommendations –Go easy on tariffs. The energy transition must be as affordable as possible if it is to command widespread support. –Instead of focusing on technologies already dominated by other players, focus on those where Europe can still win a commanding position, such as battery technology. –Use every available form of firepower to stimulate green industry – smart subsidies, a newly empowered EIB, an expanded EU Innovation Fund and new tax deductions for R&D. –Establish a CRM reserve as a buffer. Source CRM imports through new country partnerships that are facilitated by a revamped Global Gateway initiative. Provide support for local value-creation and assistance in adapting to CBAM and EUDR. –Both the EU and national governments should fast-track permitting and conduct a fundamental review of land use to expedite the construction of green infrastructure. Open but Secure: Europe’s Path to Strategic Interdependence 13