Monitoring progress
1. By 24 November 2026, the Commission shall submit a report, including indicative projections of the annual consumption of each critical raw material in 2030, 2040 and 2050, including a low, a high and a reference projection, as well as indicative benchmarks for extraction and processing per strategic raw material, with a view to meeting the benchmarks set in Article 5(1), point (a), for 2030.
2. By 24 May 2027 and at least every three years thereafter, the Commission shall, taking into account the advice of the Board, monitor progress towards the benchmarks set in Article 5(1), as well as the moderation of the expected increase in Union consumption of critical raw materials referred to in Article 5(2) and publish a report detailing the Union’s progress towards meeting those benchmarks and that moderation.
3. The report referred to in paragraph 2 shall include:
(a)
quantitative information on the extent of the Union’s progress towards the benchmarks and the moderation referred to in Article 5;
(b)
a list of Strategic Partnerships concluded between the Union and third countries covering raw materials; and
(c)
an assessment of the contribution of the Strategic Partnerships to reaching the benchmark set in Article 5(1), point (b).
For the purposes of this Article, economic operators shall not be required to submit information in addition to the information provided pursuant to Article 21.
4. To ensure the coherent implementation of this Regulation, the Commission shall monitor the consistency of its actions undertaken to implement it with other Union law. In addition, the Commission shall publish, by 24 May 2025, a report on the consistency of this Regulation with other Union law.
5. Where, on the basis of the report referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission concludes that the Union is likely not to achieve the aims of Article 5, it shall assess the feasibility and proportionality of proposing measures in order to ensure the achievement of those aims.
6. The Commission shall request the European Standardisation organisations to develop European standards or European standardisation deliverables to support the objectives of this Regulation.
Reporting of Member States
1. By 24 May 2026 and annually thereafter, Member States shall submit a report to the Commission containing the information referred to in Article 19(5), Article 21(1) and (2), Article 22(1), Article 23(5) and Article 26(6).
Economic operators shall not be required to submit information in addition to the information provided in the context of the provisions listed in the first subparagraph.
2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts setting out a template for the reports referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. The template may indicate how the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is to be expressed. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 39(2).
3. The information contained in the reports referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be subject to Article 46.
Handling of confidential information
1. Information acquired in the course of implementing this Regulation shall be used only for the purposes of this Regulation and shall be protected by the relevant Union and national law.
2. Member States and the Commission shall ensure the protection of trade and business secrets and other sensitive, confidential and classified information obtained and processed in application of this Regulation, including recommendations and measures to be taken, in accordance with Union and relevant national law.
3. The Commission and Member States shall ensure that classified information provided or exchanged pursuant to this Regulation is not downgraded or declassified without the prior written consent of the originator in accordance with relevant Union or national law.
4. Where a Member State considers that the disclosure of aggregated information pursuant to Article 22 is likely to compromise its national security interest, it may, by means of a reasoned notice, object to the Commission’s disclosure of that information.
5. The Commission and the national authorities, their officials, employees and other persons working under the supervision of those authorities shall ensure the confidentiality of information obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities in accordance with relevant Union or national law. This obligation also applies to all representatives of Member States, observers, experts and other participants attending meetings of the Board pursuant to Article 36.
6. The Commission shall provide for standardised and secure means for the collation, processing and storage of the information obtained pursuant to this Regulation.
7. Any obligations on sharing information pursuant to this Regulation shall not apply to data that concerns the essential interests of the Member States’ security or defence.
Penalties
By 24 November 2026, Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without delay, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Evaluation
1. By 24 May 2028, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation in light of the objectives that it pursues and shall present a report thereon to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the European Economic and Social Committee.
2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least assess:
(a)
the appropriateness of establishing maximum environmental footprint thresholds for critical raw materials for which calculation and verification rules have been adopted as well as the need to further strengthen the critical raw materials supply chains after 2030;
(b)
the appropriateness of establishing benchmarks targeting 2040 and 2050 on aggregated level and per strategic raw material;
(c)
the consistency between the Union environmental law and this Regulation, in particular in relation to the priority status of the Strategic Projects;
(d)
the availability of information on waste volumes and strategic raw material content for relevant waste streams;
(e)
the impact of the joint purchasing system set up pursuant to Article 25 on competition in the internal market;
(f)
the appropriateness of establishing further measures to increase the collection, sorting and processing of waste, in particular with a view to metal scraps, including ferrous scraps.
3. The Commission shall, on the basis of the report referred to in paragraph 1, submit, where appropriate, relevant legislative proposals.
Entry into force
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, Articles 40 and 41 shall apply from 24 may 2028.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
