The European Union (EU) has published its first list of strategic projects strengthening the local extraction, processing, and recycling of 14 of the 17 materials it deems critical for its energy transition and security.

The selection of the 47 projects mark a key step in implementing the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which sets targets for 2030, including extracting 10% of the EU’s annual consumption, processing 40%, and recycling 25% of these essential materials.

“Europe currently depends on third countries for many of the raw materials it needs the most. We must increase our own production, diversify our external supply, and make stockpiles,” EU executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, said in a statement.

The selected projects span 13 EU member states — Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Czechia, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Poland, and Romania. They focus on key metals and minerals such as aluminium, boron, copper, cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earths.

Of the 47 initiatives, 25 involve extraction, 24 focus on processing, and 10 are dedicated to recycling, with some covering multiple functions, the European Commission (EC), which is the EU executive body, said.

For a project to be deemed strategic, the EC must confirm its technical feasibility within a reasonable timeframe and have confidence it can meet production targets while operating sustainably.

Environmental and community organizations argue that some of the selected projects, including the Barroso lithium mine in Portugal and the Rovina gold-copper project in Romania, have faced long standing opposition.

“The Rovina gold-copper open cast mine will destroy pristine nature and displace communities and the Commission’s designation legitimizes a project deemed illegal by courts in Romania,” Roxana Pencea-Bradatan from MiningWatch Romania said in a statement. “This is destruction, not development.”

Another project designated as “strategic” is Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) Sakatti copper operation in Finland. The mine is set to produce 100,000 tonnes of copper equivalent a year starting in the early 2030s.