The European Union plans to invest in Australian mining companies to gain access to rare earths amid competition from China and the United States. This was announced to Bloomberg by European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
As Šefčovič noted, European investments could include acquiring stakes in Australian companies, signing raw material supply agreements with individual EU governments or co-financing rare earth mining projects. The European Investment Bank could act as a source of investment in Australia's mining sector.
Šefčovič previously met with Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell and Resources and Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King to discuss the supply of Australian minerals to EU countries. “This covers everything from mining, refining and processing to the use of critical minerals“, the visiting European Commissioner noted.
China is currently one of the market leaders in rare earth metals, which are in demand in the defense industry and semiconductor manufacturing. Not to be left behind, the US signed an agreement with Australia in October 2025 to invest in Australian mining companies. As the Financial Times previously reported, the EU plans to create a body to coordinate the supply and storage of critical minerals to prevent a situation in which all sources of these minerals fall under the control of the US and China.
The New York Times previously reportedthat EU countries' dependence on rare earth metals from China threatens their plans to rearm their armies.