For the first time, a joint meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the European Commission College was held in Kyiv, during which Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, spoke about Ukraine’s important role in implementing green technologies in Europe.
He said that Ukraine had deposits of 21 out of 30 minerals essential for the EU, including lithium, graphite, cobalt, zinc, etc. Ukraine’s victory in the war against the aggressor is important for the raw material security of the entire continent. Our country, which accounts for only 0.4% of the world’s land area, contains 5% of global mineral resources. Today, more than 2,000 mineral deposits are in occupied territories, with a total value of more than USD 12 trillion.
“The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources is consistently pursuing the work initiated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič back in 2021 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials. Despite active hostilities, Ukraine continues to develop the legal framework for investment, deepen cooperation with partners and fulfill international obligations to achieve sustainable development goals. russian armed aggression has not hindered progress in our relations,” Ruslan Strilets said.
Among the results of cooperation between Ukraine and Europe:
A European-Ukrainian working group has developed amendments to the Roadmap for 2023-2024. It is expected to be signed.
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ukrainian Geological Survey and the EBRD, which would help modernize the system of geoinformation management. This includes development of the National Geological Data Portal and the digitization of geological reports. We expect to receive a final positive decision from the EBRD to provide funds for these purposes in the near future.
The Government of Ukraine, together with the European Commission, held a first business forum where Ukrainian companies presented their portfolios on the development and extraction of lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, and zinc. The goal was to attract investors and loans from European financial institutions. We expect that Ukrainian projects will be identified as strategic for Europe as a whole.
According to the Minister, an important step should be Ukraine’s integration into the draft EU Raw Materials Strategy until 2030.
“We expect to get the European Commission’s decision in the next quarter. We share common values and strategic goals of the EU, including with regard to the extraction of critical raw materials. I thank our friends and partners from the European Commission for their unprecedented support for Ukraine. I am personally grateful to Maroš Šefčovič for his help in building a modern Ukraine,” Ruslan Strilets emphasized.