Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné has defended the integrity of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) strategic project selection process, responding to concerns raised by MEP Martin Günther (The Left) about transparency and procedural fairness. In a written answer on 22 July 2026, Séjourné emphasised that the technical assessment is conducted by independent external experts and that all selected projects met the criteria set out in Article 6 of the CRMA. He noted that the Critical Raw Materials Board is consulted and its opinions are publicly available, and that Member States retain the right to veto projects on their territory.
The question followed reports that controversial mining projects, including the Barroso lithium project in Portugal and the Jadar Valley project in Serbia, were added between a draft and final list in 2025 despite earlier expert assessments. Séjourné clarified that the results presented on 20 February 2026 were preliminary and that the expert assessment was not finalised for some projects at that stage. He pointed to published guidance, assessment templates, and project factsheets as evidence of transparency, while acknowledging that certain detailed evaluation elements cannot be disclosed to protect commercially sensitive information or the integrity of the decision-making process.
The answer provides no new concrete measures or commitments beyond existing CRMA procedures. It reaffirms the Commission's position that the process is robust and transparent, while leaving open the possibility that some projects may have been added after initial expert assessments were incomplete. The response is likely to satisfy neither critics who demand full publication of draft lists and expert evaluations, nor those who suspect political influence in the selection. Institutional follow-up may include further parliamentary questions or a request for the Commission to review its disclosure practices, though no timeline is indicated.