1. The Board shall periodically discuss:
(a)
the extent to which Strategic Partnerships concluded by the Union contribute towards:
(i)
improving the Union’s security of supply including the benchmarks set in Article 5(1), point (b);
(ii)
improving cooperation along the critical raw materials value chain between the Union and partner countries, including capacity building and technology transfer programs to promote circularity and responsible recycling of critical raw materials in producing countries;
(iii)
the economic and social development of partner countries, including by promoting sustainable and circular economy practices, decent working conditions and respect for human rights along their raw material value chains;
(b)
the consistency of and potential synergies between Member States’ bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries and the actions carried out by the Union in the context of Strategic Partnerships;
(c)
which third countries could be prioritised for the conclusion of Strategic Partnerships, taking into account the following criteria:
(i)
the potential contribution to security of supply as well as resilience thereof, taking into account a third country’s potential reserves, extraction, processing and recycling capacities related to critical raw materials;
(ii)
whether a cooperation between the Union and a third country could improve a third country’s ability to ensure the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of adverse environmental impacts through its regulatory framework and the implementation thereof, the use of socially responsible practices including respect for human and labour rights, in particular on forced and child labour, meaningful engagement with local communities, including indigenous peoples, the use of transparent and responsible business practices, the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration and the rule of law;
(iii)
whether there are existing cooperation agreements between the Union and a third country and, for emerging markets and developing economies, the potential for the deployment of Global Gateway investment projects, including with a view to facilitating investment in Strategic Projects;
(iv)
for emerging markets and developing economies, whether and how a partnership could contribute to local value addition, including downstream activities, and would be mutually beneficial to the Union and the partner country;
(d)
advise the Commission on how to ensure that the Strategic Partnerships referred to in this paragraph are consistent with the Union’s policies on emerging markets and developing economies.
2. The Board’s discussions pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Council in accordance with the Treaties.
3. Member States:
(a)
shall inform the Commission about their bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries, when its scope includes critical raw materials value chain;
(b)
may support the Commission in the implementation of the cooperation measures set out in Strategic Partnerships along the raw materials value chain.
4. Once a year, the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council about the content and outcome of the Board’s discussions pursuant to paragraph 1.