Resources

This statement on the EU Commission's planned Omnibus Package I highlights its potential consequences for the minerals and metals sector. The package risks undermining the EU’s credibility in responsible sourcing and corporate accountability.

Almost two-thirds of the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium on the global market come from Myanmar. How should Germany and Europe deal with the mining of urgently needed rare earths in the civil war-torn country of Myanmar?

While Brussels may see the Jadar lithium mining project as a strategic step toward a greener future, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić sees it as a tactical tool to reinforce his grip on power - just as hundreds of thousands rise to reclaim democracy.

A new study examines how the transition to a circular economy can be made fair globally. Against this background, we evaluate the Clean Industrial Deal presented by the EU Commission in February 2025.

The pursuit of food sovereignty in Palestine is a profound act of agency and a demand for food justice. It is rooted in agroecology and the control of local natural resources to achieve self-sufficiency.

Funding climate protection through carbon certificates for soil may seem beneficial at first. However, a greater focus on soil health and supporting farmers in adopting sustainable practices would be far more effective in practice.

The lithium deal brings a new quality to Serbia’s foreign policy zigzagging. At one stroke, Serbia became a strategic partner and the guarantor for the future of the European Green Deal.

Serbia's lithium mining project in Jadar has been on hold because of mass protests against feared environmental damage. Now the EU wants to secure this lithium access for Europe - despite the political and legal conditions in Serbia.

The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act is peppered with commitments to “value-addition” in the countries where critical minerals will be mined and processed. But there is reason to believe that this means little.

Corrupt politicians have been systematically plundering public budgets and natural resources in the Western Balkans for years. Increasingly, international actors are also discovering an El Dorado for dubious investments in these countries.