The security of supply chains is now one of the European Union’s central concerns, especially in strategic sectors such as critical minerals and rare earths. It is from this perspective that the new policy report by Federico Donelli, Professor of International Relations at the University of Trieste, and Riccardo Gasco begins, identifying Turkey as a possible partner in strengthening Europe’s industrial resilience.

Published by the Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol) as part of the Foreign Policy Program series (April 2026-004), with the support of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation Turkey Representation, the report, entitled Critical Minerals, Rare Earths, and the Türkiye–EU Partnership. Supply Chain Resilience and the Restructuring of the Global Order, examines the relationship between strategic raw materials, economic security and European industrial policy, focusing on the role Turkey could play in building more resilient supply chains.

The report shows how supply chains have taken on growing importance in international competition and highlights, in particular, the issue of rare earth processing and refining. According to the authors, it is especially in this segment of the value chain that one of Europe’s main vulnerabilities can now be seen, also in light of the strong concentration of capacity in China.

Against this backdrop, Turkey is presented as a potentially important partner for the European Union, both because of its geographical proximity and because of its industrial base, refining capacity and already established economic ties with the European market. The paper also points to the existence of a Turkish national strategy aimed at strengthening the critical minerals sector and recalls, among the relevant factors, the role the country already plays in certain supply chains.

Alongside these strengths, the study also highlights the limits of the current European framework. The authors note that, although the Critical Raw Materials Act sets out important strategic goals, it is still facing difficulties in the implementation phase. At the same time, the report identifies a number of open issues for Turkey, linked to governance in the mining sector, environmental standards, deposit certification and the broader political and diplomatic context shaping relations with Brussels.

“The report,” explains Federico Donelli, “also connects the issue of critical minerals to the broader evolution of the international order. From this perspective, the conflict with Iran is cited as a factor that has made even more evident the interdependence between energy, logistics, the defence industry and raw material supply, reinforcing the need for Europe to equip itself with more effective tools of economic and strategic resilience.”

In its concluding section, the report sets out six recommendations addressed to the European Commission, Member States and the Turkish government. Among them, the authors point to the opportunity to launch a formal strategic partnership between the European Union and Turkey on critical raw materials, direct European investment towards processing and refining infrastructure in Turkey, and establish a joint working group focused on supply chain resilience and the modernisation of the Customs Union.

The paper also suggests making use of the current phase of regional instability to strengthen coordination between the two sides in the energy field, developing a joint pilot plant for rare earth processing, and ensuring a more timely European presence in the main international forums where priorities and frameworks for the sector are being defined.

Federico Donelli’s contribution is part of his broader research path devoted to new geopolitical configurations and the role of regional actors in the Euro-Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and African areas. In this case, the focus on relations between the European Union and Turkey provides a useful perspective on an issue that directly affects Europe’s industrial policy, economic security and international positioning.