MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Minerals agreement between the United States and Ukraine – E-002645/2025

Question for written answer  E-002645/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Jonas Sjöstedt (The Left)

Ukraine has recently signed a bilateral agreement with the United States aimed at facilitating US access to strategic natural resources in Ukraine. The agreement includes a clause explicitly stating that it should not hinder Ukraine’s EU accession process. However, there is a lack of clear information on how environmental safeguards will be ensured and how the agreement aligns with EU environmental legislation, particularly the Water Framework Directive[1], the Extractive Waste Directive[2] and the proposed soil monitoring law[3].

• 1.Can the Commission confirm that, as part of the accession negotiations, Ukraine will be required to fully incorporate EU environmental legislation including the Water Framework Directive and the Extractive Waste Directive into its national legal framework prior to membership?
• 2.Does the Commission agree that an agreement which lacks clear and binding environmental safeguards risks undermining Ukraine’s alignment with the EU environmental acquis and could therefore hinder the accession process, despite clauses to the contrary?
• 3.How does it assess Ukraine’s decision to temporarily suspend the environmental impact assessment requirement for extractive projects, in light of EU environmental legislation and the long-term goals of environmental protection and sustainable development?

Submitted: 30.6.2025

• [1] Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2000/60/oj.
• [2] Directive 2006/21/EC of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries, OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 15, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2006/21/oj.
• [3] COM(2023)0416.