Green ambition, questionable track records: who are the EU’s strategic partners?

The EU is establishing Strategic Partnerships with 14 countries to secure critical minerals for its 2050 climate neutrality goal. Global Witness argues that these deals prioritize resource access over social and environmental governance, citing specific risks in Serbia, Rwanda, Australia, Argentina, Uzbekistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The author calls for the EU to implement stringent safeguards and transparent 'Roadmaps' to ensure the energy transition does not perpetuate human rights abuses or environmental destruction.

• The EU has signed Strategic Partnerships and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 14 countries to ensure a reliable supply of minerals necessary for its goal of being climate neutral by 2050. These countries include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Namibia, Norway, Rwanda, Ukraine, Zambia, and most recently, Serbia.
• The EU's partnership with Serbia is controversial due to local opposition to lithium mining and a court ruling that overturned the government's 2022 decision to revoke mining licenses following accusations of environmental harm.
• The document identifies several high-risk partnerships where the EU may be overlooking governance and human rights records: Rwanda's links to conflict minerals funding armed groups; Australia's history of mining without Indigenous consent; Argentina's excessive water usage in lithium extraction; Uzbekistan's authoritarian regime; and the Democratic Republic of Congo's endemic corruption, specifically citing US$28 million generated by shell companies at the Manono lithium deposit.
• To maintain ethical standards, the EU must ensure that 'Roadmaps' for mineral extraction are available for scrutiny by civil society and communities to prevent social and environmental harms.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Green ambition, questionable track records: who are the EU’s strategic partners? https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/green-ambition-questionable-track-records-who-are-the-eus-strategic-partners/

Chicago

Global Witness. Green ambition, questionable track records: who are the EU’s strategic partners? n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/green-ambition-questionable-track-records-who-are-the-eus-strategic-partners/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Green ambition, questionable track records: who are the EU’s strategic partners? |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/green-ambition-questionable-track-records-who-are-the-eus-strategic-partners/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndgreen, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Green ambition, questionable track records: who are the EU’s strategic partners?}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/green-ambition-questionable-track-records-who-are-the-eus-strategic-partners/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }