EU와 주요 EU회원국의 배터리 공급망 정책의 차이점: 대중국 전략

Abstract

In the war in Ukraine, Russia's weaponization of its energy resources affects the EU member states. The EU seeks to "de-risk" by reducing dependence on China for critical materials. The EU believes that Lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas In addition, the EU, in particular, expects the EU's demand for rare earths will increase fivefold by 2030. On September 14, 2022, the president of the European Commission, von der Leyen announced the “Critical Raw Material Act” (RMA) to establish an EU-centered supply chain in key raw materials such as lithium and rare earths that are highly dependent on China. On 16 March 2023, the European Commission published its Critical Raw Materials Act Proposal. The Regulation sets clear benchmarks for domestic capacities: “At least 10% of the EU's annual consumption for extraction”, “At least 40% of the EU's annual consumption for processing”, “At least 15% of the EU's annual consumption for recycling”. In order to diversify the import sources of critical minerals, the EU is trying to increase the import of these materials from reliable partner countries such as Canada. In the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, the issues of “labor rights, human rights, and environmental protection” were indirectly targeted at China by linking them with supply chains. As such, the EU level is trying to de-risk its dependence on China. The energy and environment sectors are the areas of shared competences between the EU and Member States as stipulated in Article 4 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). However, the EU member states such as France and Germany are strengthening their cooperation with China in the fields of the battery industry, unlike the EU's policy to reduce its dependence on China. Accordingly, Korean battery manufacturers, which are highly dependent on sales in the EU market, face challenges from Chinese battery manufacturers in the EU market.