Commission Decisions designating 60 raw materials projects as „strategic“ likely unlawful

The European Commission’s Decision C(2025) 1904 of 25 March 2025 recognises 47 projects as “Strategic Projects” under Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). Commission Decision C(2025) 3491 of 4 June 2025 recognizes further 13 projects located outside of the European Union as “strategic”. The Decisions recite that each listed project “fulfil[s] all the criteria provided for in Article 6(1)” of the Regulation, and notes that applications were assessed “with the support of external experts […] in the technical, financial, environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of a
project”. However, the Decision itself contains no explanation of how each project satisfies the sustainability requirements of Art. 6, nor any factual or legal reasoning for granting the strategic status. This omission gives rise to a breach of the Commission’s duty to state reasons and creates legal uncertainty for affected communities, national permitting authorities and companies. The published notice outlines these shortcomings and depicts implications following therefrom for the involved stakeholder groups.