European Commission denies offering Ukraine an alternative minerals deal

The European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier made the statement.

He noted that the EU-Ukraine partnership on minerals begins in 2021. 

Regnier explained that there was no proposal and that since 2021, the EU had maintained an official partnership with Ukraine on critical raw materials, formalized by a memorandum of understanding. He noted that this partnership had been in place for four years and, like all of the EU’s partnerships on critical raw materials, aimed not only to ensure supply chain security for the EU but also to contribute to local value creation and capacity building in partner countries, ensuring mutual benefit. He emphasized that the cooperation was focused on collaboration with Ukraine rather than competition with the United States.

According to him, during the board's visit to Kyiv on February 24, Executive Vice President Sejourne met with his Ukrainian counterparts and reaffirmed Europe's commitment to implementing the memorandum of understanding and accelerating work to strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership.

The European Commission spokesperson emphasized that, as mentioned several times the previous day, the EU stands by Ukraine and will continue to do so as Ukraine fights for the security of the entire continent. The spokesperson further explained that, like all important raw materials and memorandums of understanding the EU has with its partners, the goal is to create synergies between supply chains on both sides and to create benefits for partners on the ground. This, they clarified, was the purpose of the memorandum of understanding.

Earlier, Barron's reported that European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne was offering Ukraine a separate agreement on minerals during a visit to Kyiv on February 24.

Ukraine's reserves of minerals — including manganese, titanium, graphite, and lithium — have been at the center of intense negotiations between Kyiv and Washington. Trump has repeatedly insisted that the United States should be compensated for its financial and military support in defending Ukraine against Russia's invasion.

European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne revealed that he had presented a different proposal to Ukrainian officials during a visit to Kyiv alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Twenty-one of the 30 critical materials Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership," Sejourne said after the meeting, which took place on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

"The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that's not mutually beneficial," he added.

Meanwhile, Trump stated on Monday that the United States was "very close" to securing its own minerals agreement with Ukraine.