EU Commission denies offering Ukraine agreement on rare earths
Photo: European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier (linkedin.com)
The European Commission has denied Politico's report that the EU has allegedly offered Ukraine a deal on minerals. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that there have been no such initiatives from the EU.
“So there is no proposal. So since 2021, the EU has a partnership on critical raw materials with Ukraine formalized through our memorandum of understanding. So this dates back 4 years ago, as with all the EU critical raw materials partnerships that we have, this corporation is not only about securing supply chains for the EU but also about fostering. Um, local value creation and capacity building in partner countries ensuring mutual benefits,” Regnier said.
Earlier today, Politico wrote that the European Union offered Ukraine its own agreement on the use of rare earth materials. The agency cited a statement by European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné. According to him, he allegedly submitted a competitive proposal to Ukrainian officials with whom he met during his visit to Kyiv on February 24.
“During yesterday's college visit to Kyiv, indeed EPC Journey met with his Ukrainian counterparts, and he reaffirmed our commitment to implement this memorandum of understanding and accelerating the work to strengthen our mutually beneficial partnership,” said the EC spokesperson.
Agreement between Ukraine and United States
Washington offered Ukraine a deal on rare earth metals that included the creation of a $500 billion special fund. The United States planned to obtain economic and management rights in this fund, and the proceeds from the sale of resources were to be used as a way to reimburse American aid. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the amount of support from the United States amounted to $100 billion and cannot be considered a debt.
According to NBC News, Trump offered Ukraine to transfer 50% of its rights to rare earth metals to the United States and expressed readiness to deploy US troops to protect the minerals.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said yesterday that negotiations between Ukraine and the United States on this issue are in the final stages.
At the same time, Axios has learned new details of the draft agreement between the US and Ukraine on rare earths.
