EU-Ukraine relations,Raw materials,Batteries,Cooperation,

The European Union and Ukraine have launched a strategic partnership on raw materials and batteries, EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on February 11.

“The European Union has always stood side-by-side with Ukraine as its closest friend,” said the VP for Inter-institutional Relations and Foresight. “Our support and cooperation has been delivering tangible results. I’m therefore trully excited to expand this positive agenda to new areas,” said Sefcovic, who is also coordinating the EU Battery Alliance.

He stressed that the EU-Ukraine strategic partnership on critical raw materials and batteries a win-win as it promotes EU’s green and digital transition while helping Ukraine approximate its policies with the European Green Deal. “This is all the more important as we need to sustainability revive our economies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of this partnership, the EU stands ready to scale up its technical assistances program with the Ukrainian government by including raw materials and topping up its budget with an additional 800,000 euros,” Sefcovic said. “In this context, I welcome that the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has become a new member of our two strategic industrial alliances on raw materials and batteries. I’m also looking forward to a high-level conference on strategic EU-Ukrainian cooperation on raw materials to be held later this year,” he said.

Read more at: EU-Ukraine launch strategic partnership on raw materials and batteries | New Europe

China, Russia mull interests in Central Asia

Raw materials and energy reserves in Central Asia make the region of particular interest to both China and Russia. The two countries share interests in region but are also each others biggest competitors. 

The relationship between Russia and China is complicated by both cooperation and competition. That could make the first official visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow a tense one. Bilateral political and economic issues are set to dominate the agenda when Xi meets Russian Putin Vladimir Putin for two days of talks, which started Friday.

The countries enjoy what experts have often called a strategic partnership, but that does not mean relations are without problems. The energy sector often crops up as a bone of contention between the nations as both look to increase their power and influence in Central Asia.

Particularly when it comes to security issues such as Afghanistan and the surrounding region, Moscow and Beijing have shared concerns. The two countries expect difficulties as radical Islamists are set to gain influence as NATO pulls out of Afghanistan, according to Knabe, who added that this was a problem for both nations.

Russia and China could also be of use to each other when it comes to dealing with the United States, Knabe said, adding that Washington is looking increasingly to Asia while Beijing focuses on the US, which will increase competition between China and the US.

Read more at DW.

Europe looks to open up Greenland for natural resources extraction - by Fiona Harvey

Europe is looking to open a new frontier in the ever more urgent quest for new natural resources – the pristine icy wastes of Greenland.

Oil and gas have been the focus of exploitation so far – but the EU sees just as much potential in a massive opening up of mining operations across the world's biggest island, according to Antonio Tajani, the European commission's vice-president and one of the most powerful politicians in the union. He called the move "raw material diplomacy".

Latest satellite data reveal that 97% of the surface of the Greenland ice sheet underwent surface melting over four exceptionally warm days in July, indicating natural resources will become more available for extraction in the coming decades.

Greenland – with strong historical ties to the EU through Denmark, though the island now has home rule – represents a vast and largely untapped resource. Drilling for oil in Greenland's waters is now at the exploratory stage, having been impractical until recent advances in deep sea drilling. Mining has also been all but impossible across most of the country, which is covered in a 150m thick sheet of ice except for a few coastal strips, but melting ice and new techniques are likely to bring more of the region's potential mineral resources within reach in the coming years.

But Europe may face competition. China is already ahead; one of the most advanced metals mining projects in Greenland is nominally owned by London Mining, a UK company, but most of the finance and direction comes from China. Other countries are also eyeing the prize – although Greenland's historical ties are mainly with Europe, it is geographically close to the US and Canada.

Read more: Europe looks to open up Greenland for natural resources extraction | Environment | guardian.co.uk