said Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission’s Vice President. Speaking at the signing of a co-operation agreement in Kyiv (EU-Ukraine batteries and raw materials cooperation agreement): “We’re talking about lithium, cobalt, manganese, rare earths – all of them are in Ukraine.” At present, China provides 98% of the EU’s supply of rare earth elements, a key component for magnets used in electric car batteries, smartphones and wind turbines.