Answer for question E-000429/25

EN E-000429/2025 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission (11.4.2025) 1. The Commission has been made aware of this, e.g. by the written question E-002085/2024. Projects should be planned and implemented covering all aspects of sustainability highlighted in the publication ‘EU principles for sustainable raw materials’1. In combination with legal requirements, e.g. from the Water Framework Directive2, a safeguard framework ensures that such impacts on the environment, social cohesion and drinking water are minimised. 2. Recycling plays a crucial role to ensure secure and sustainable supply of antimony. Secondary antimony is mainly recovered from lead-acid batteries and to a lesser extent from polymers3. The Commission aims to increase such recycling efforts by setting the right legal framework in the critical raw materials, waste and product legislation but also by funding several projects to develop innovative antimony recovery processes4. The Extractive Waste Directive5 encourages the recovery of extractive waste by means of recycling, reusing or reclaiming such waste in accordance with the existing environmental standards. 3. National bodies are primarily responsible to verify compliance of individual projects with the EU environmental legislation. For example, the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive6 requires to assess environmental impacts for projects, which might have such adverse impacts. In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the...