Mapping Europe’s CRMA Strategic Projects as the New Bedrock of 2030 Defence Readiness
The strategic landscape of 2025 marks a definitive pivot in European industrial doctrine, as the European Union transitions from market-led procurement to a security-first sourcing regime. Central to this transformation is the operationalization of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which identifies 60 “Strategic Projects” designed to decouple the continent’s defence-industrial base from adversarial monopolies, specifically China’s dominance in rare earths, gallium, and magnesium. By fast-tracking extraction and refining capacities from the Swedish Arctic to southern Africa, the EU is effectively integrating mineral supply chains into its broader deterrence architecture. This report analyzes how the convergence of EIB-backed financing, streamlined permitting, and “friend-shoring” initiatives aims to secure the physical inputs necessary for next-generation propulsion, radar systems, and conventional munitions, ensuring that Europe’s 2030 readiness goals are not stymied by resource coercion.