Members of Parliament are calling for concrete actions to secure access to raw materials
Alfred Bjørlo, a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party (Venstre), believes that the reason Norway is not investing enough in raw material production is because we are outside the EU and its new measures. He has now expressed his concerns to the Minister of Trade and Industry, urging concrete actions to avoid being "left behind on the platform".
-On behalf of Venstre, I have now submitted a written question to the Minister of Trade and Industry regarding what specific actions the government will take to ensure that Norway can take a leading role in the development of sustainable raw materials in Europe. This is in light of the fact that EU countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Ireland have already allocated billions of euros for such an initiative, says Bjørlo.
It was the concern expressed by Christophe Pinck, the EU advisor for the Eyde Cluster, which set things in motion at the Norwegian Parliament.
-A shift in gear is happening in the EU and it must also occur on the Norwegian side. We see that we need to better organize the Norwegian system to fulfill our obligations in this agreement, Pinck said in an article on our website.
Member of Parliament Bjørlo emphasizes that both he and Venstre fully share the concern expressed by the Eyde Cluster, that Norway is at risk of being "left behind on the platform" as the EU now significantly accelerates its policy on critical raw materials.
The key is understanding the EU
-I don't think the reason for this is direct political reluctance to invest in raw materials in Norway. Most likely Norway's outsider status in the EU is to blame, which means we're not keeping up with the pace and scale of decisions, and the new actions the EU and many EU countries are now implementing to increase access to critical raw materials, including processing, he points out.
He believes the most important thing Norway must do now, as long as we remain outside the EU, is to fully understand and absorb how the EU is working to secure access to critical raw materials.
-Then we must align Norwegian policy completely with that. We need much more comprehensive strategies for the entire value chain in Norway - and it needs to happen quickly. According to Venstre, even closer cooperation between the authorities, industry, and technology communities in Norway is absolutely necessary, he emphasizes.
-We have long been trying to garner attention
-We in the Eyde Cluster have long sought attention for the strategic importance of the Norwegian process industry within the European community. Our materials industry is crucial for ensuring Europe's renewable energy, transitioning to the digital shift, and the green transformation of mobility. We produce many of the critical and strategic raw materials that the EU has defined. We have missed political engagement for the processing of these raw materials. So far, there has been more focus on mining from the Norwegian side, says Helene Falch Fladmark, Managing Director of the Eyde Cluster.
See our list over the raw materials an products in the Eyde Cluster
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