This policy brief examines how recent EU initiatives, most notably the Critical Raw Materials Act (2023) and the broader framework of Open Strategic Autonomy, shape the Union’s engagement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of its most strategic yet fragile partners in the supply of critical minerals. While the European Union sets ambitious targets to reduce external vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience, its limited reserves and social opposition to mining make international partnerships indispensable. In this sense, the DRC emerges as both an opportunity and a test case for the EU’s ability to combine regulatory ambitions with credible strategic action.

The analysis highlights the tension between Europe’s ethical standards and the geopolitical pragmatism of global competitors, China above all. The brief argues that the EU’s success will depend on whether it can translate its normative power into tangible influence, transforming an asymmetric relationship into a sustainable partnership that reconciles ethics with strategic interests.

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