According to a Reuters report dated May 20, 2026—citing sources familiar with the matter—the EU has preliminarily selected tungsten, rare earths, and gallium as the initial commodities for its joint strategic reserve of critical minerals. This move is designed to diminish the Union's dependence on China in this sector. The EU is currently engaged in negotiations with major European ports—including the Port of Rotterdam—regarding arrangements for storage facilities. This initiative is widely viewed as one of the most decisive actions the EU has taken to date to mitigate its reliance on China for critical minerals, and it marks a substantive step forward for Europe in the realm of resource security.
Tungsten, the 74th element on the periodic table, is often dubbed the "teeth of industry" due to its exceptionally high melting point and density. In the industrial and technological spheres, it is utilized in applications such as hard-metal cutting tools, tungsten hexafluoride (WF?) for semiconductor manufacturing, tungsten-copper packaging components in electronics, and shielding materials for the medical and nuclear industries. In the defense sector, tungsten's high density and hardness make it indispensable for critical military equipment, including armor-piercing projectile cores, missile components, tank armor, and aircraft counterweights. Given this extensive range of applications, the strategic value of tungsten is self-evident. Notably, except for magnesium, all the minerals included in the EU's current reserve list also appear on NATO's designated list of 12 elements deemed critical to the defense industry.
Rare earths refer to a collective group of 17 metallic elements on the periodic table—specifically scandium, yttrium, and the 15 lanthanide elements. Distinguished by their unique electron shell structures, these elements possess exceptional magnetic, optical, electrical, and catalytic properties, earning them the moniker "the vitamins of industry." In the industrial and technological sectors, rare earth elements are widely utilized in permanent magnet materials (such as Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets, used in motors for new energy vehicles, wind turbines, and industrial robots), catalysts (for petroleum cracking and automotive exhaust purification), luminescent materials (LEDs and display screens), polishing powders (for semiconductor wafers and precision optical lenses), and electronic ceramics, among other fields. In the defense sector, elements such as Neodymium and Dysprosium are employed in high-performance permanent magnets that underpin precision guidance systems for missiles, radar, sonar, and electronic warfare equipment; Samarium-Cobalt magnets are utilized in aircraft engines and precision-guided munitions operating in high-temperature environments; furthermore, these materials are extensively used in laser crystals, night-vision devices, satellite communications, and armor-enhancing materials.
The driving force behind the EU's urgency to establish strategic reserves of tungsten and rare earth elements is a deep-seated anxiety regarding China's absolute dominance within the global supply chains for these materials. China controls approximately 50% of the world's tungsten and rare earth reserves; by 2025, an estimated 79% of global tungsten production and 69% of rare earth production will originate from China. According to statistics from China Tungsten Online, since China intensified export controls on tungsten products in 2025, the price of Ammonium Paratungstate (APT)—a critical tungsten intermediate product—in Europe has surged more than eightfold; concurrently, China's APT export volume in 2025 contracted by approximately 64% year-on-year.
According to reports, the European Commission first announced this strategic reserve initiative in December 2025. Currently, ten EU member states are participating in the planning process through a working group led by Italy, France, and Germany. France has prioritized the diversification of critical mineral supplies during its tenure as the G7 chair; simultaneously, the EU is moving forward with the establishment of a permanent secretariat to ensure that this initiative remains uninterrupted by the rotation of the EU's presidency. The Port of Rotterdam—Europe's largest gateway for industrial supply chains—is considered one of the most critical potential locations for these reserves; however, neither the port authorities nor spokespersons for the European Commission have offered any comment on the matter.
Nevertheless, analysts point out that this EU plan faces formidable challenges. Foremost among these is Europe's extremely high external dependency on critical minerals: the region relies on external sources for over 95% of its rare earth elements and nearly 100% of its magnesium—and China happens to be the primary supplier for the vast majority of these materials. Secondly, the *Implementation Regulations of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China* are set to take effect on June 15, 2026. These regulations explicitly mandate aggregate volume controls and restrictions on mining entities for strategic minerals, while also establishing a system of origin-based reserves with a minimum duration of five years. This signifies that the EU will face increasingly stringent resource security controls imposed by major producing nations. Furthermore, Europe currently possesses virtually no domestic processing capacity; China accounts for nearly 90% of global rare earth processing output and holds a similarly dominant position in the field of tungsten processing. The prospects for Europe to establish alternative processing capacities of sufficient scale within the short term are not optimistic.
