Europe’s Critical Chemicals Alliance has made significant progress in just one year, laying out a series of measures to protect critical chemical production, strengthen industrial competitiveness and secure the future of the continent’s chemical value chains.
The challenge now is turning those recommendations into concrete action.
The Alliance’s General Assembly today highlighted the work delivered so far on one of Europe’s most complex industrial challenges.
Its achievements include a methodology to identify critical molecules and production sites, enhanced monitoring of import surges, recommendations to strengthen the EU’s trade defence toolkit, proposals to modernise existing industrial assets and safeguard critical production in Europe, and measures to stimulate demand for low-carbon and circular products.
But with the groundwork largely in place, the focus is shifting to implementation.
Sylvie Lemoine, Deputy Director General of Cefic, said: "The Critical Chemicals Alliance has shown what can be achieved when everyone around this crucial sector, industry, value chains, Member States, regions, and policymakers, work together around a shared objective. We would like to thank Executive Vice-President Séjourné, as well as the French and Dutch governments, for their leadership in bringing this initiative forward.
"A tremendous amount of work has been delivered in a short period of time. The diagnosis is clear and the recommendations are on the table. What matters now is implementation. We ask the European Commission to take these results, make clear policy choices and take the next steps even before the year end.“
The Alliance’s next phase must move beyond analysis and become an implementation network, backed by a mechanism to track progress and ensure commitments translate into results.
The European Commission should integrate the Alliance’s findings into upcoming initiatives, including the Biotech Act II, Circular Economy Act, Industrial Accelerator Act and ETS reform. It must also take ownership of the identified list of critical molecules and production sites.
The draft list, however, is not a definitive catalogue of chemicals deemed critical to Europe. It represents the first pilot application of the Alliance’s methodology and should serve as a starting point for further analysis, refinement and validation as the initiative enters its implementation phase.
Delivering on the Alliance’s ambitions will also require action at national and regional levels. Member States and regions should work with industry to develop modernisation plans capable of unlocking investment and EU funding for both basic and specialty chemicals.
Strengthening market demand for critical chemicals and the value chains that rely on them will be equally important. Without stronger demand and the investment needed to modernise production, Europe risks struggling to maintain the industrial capabilities on which its wider economy depends.
The Alliance has established a foundation for action. The priority now is to turn its recommendations into tangible outcomes, track progress and ensure that critical chemical production remains viable in Europe.
For the European Commission, Member States, regions and industry, the next phase will be a test of their ability to convert a shared diagnosis into coordinated policy and investment.
The objective is clear: keep Europe’s critical chemical value chains strong, innovative and globally competitive.
