Assessment of the recognition criteria for Strategic Projects

1. The assessment of whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (a) shall take into account: whether the project contributes towards the benchmarks set out in Article 5(2), point (a); whether the project contributes to maintaining or strengthening Union capacities as a share of the Union’s annual consumption of strategic raw material, taking into account the expected increase in Union consumption; whether the project contributes to strengthening Union capacity to produce innovative raw materials able to substitute strategic raw material in one or more strategic technologies, while taking measures to achieve an equal or lower environmental footprint compared to the strategic raw material that is substituted. A project’s contribution to the relevant capacity benchmark shall be assessed taking into account the project’s business plan and supporting technical information included in the application and the project’s estimated time to market. 2. The assessment of whether a project in a third country or in a OCTs fulfils the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (a) shall take into account: whether the project contributes to the benchmarks set out in Article 5(2), point (b) or contributes to maintaining the resilience of the Union’s supply of strategic raw materials; whether the applicable legal framework or other conditions provide assurance that trade and investment related to the project will not be distorted, taking into account, in particular, whether the Union has concluded a Strategic Partnership referred to in Article 37 or a trade agreement containing a chapter on raw materials with the relevant third country, or OCTs, and is consistent with the Union’s common commercial policy; the extent to which there are undertakings that have or are willing to conclude offtake agreements with the project promoter with a view to using or processing the strategic raw materials produced by the relevant projects in the Union; whether the project is in line with the Union’s development cooperation and foreign policy objectives. A project’s contribution to the benchmarks referred to in point (a) shall be assessed taking into account the project’s business plan and supporting technical information included in the application, the project’s estimated time to market as well as the share of the project’s output that is covered by existing or potential offtake agreements referred to in point (c). Evidence related to point (c) may include contractual agreements, letters of intent or memoranda of understanding. 3. The assessment of whether a project fulfils the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (b) shall take into account: the quality of the feasibility studies carried out on the potential of development of the project; whether the technology intended to be used has been demonstrated in the relevant environment. 4. The feasibility studies referred to in point 3(a) shall be designed to: assess whether a proposed project is likely to be successful by analysing technological and environmental considerations; identify potential technical issues and problems that could arise while pursuing the project. Further studies may be required to confirm the feasibility of the project. 5. The assessment of whether projects located in the Union fulfil the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (c) shall take into account an overall assessment of a project’s compliance with relevant Union or national law as well as relevant supplementary evidence, taking into account the location of the project. The assessment of whether projects in third countries or in OCTs fulfil the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (c) shall take into account compliance with the applicable national law where that national law provides sufficient assurance of compliance with the criterion or aspects of it and with the following international instruments: ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy; OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, in particular the guidelines related to combatting corruption; OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas; OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector, including where referring to the principles set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; OECD Principles of Corporate Governance; OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct; UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; IFC Performance Standard 5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement. 6. Project promoters may also attest compliance with the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (c) by: providing evidence that the project concerned is individually certified by one or more schemes recognised pursuant to Article 30(2) that jointly cover the requirements listed in Annex IV, point (2); or committing to obtain certification for the project concerned as part of by one or more schemes recognised pursuant to Article 30(2) that jointly cover the requirements listed in Annex IV, point (2), and providing sufficient evidence that when implemented the project concerned will be able to meet the criteria for such certification. 7. The assessment of whether a project in the Union fulfils the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (d) shall take into account: whether undertakings from different Member States participate in the project; whether potential offtakers are located also in more than one Member State; effects on the availability of strategic raw materials for downstream users in more than one Member State. 8. The assessment of whether a project in a third country fulfils the criterion laid down in Article 6(1), point (e) shall take into account the extent to which the project contributes, in the relevant third country: to strengthening more than one stage of the raw materials value chain in that country or its wider region; to fostering private investment in the domestic raw materials value chain; to the creation of wider economic or social benefits, including the creation of employment.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-13 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.