EU industry chief urges critical minerals stockpiling

BRUSSELS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to quickly create stockpiles of critical minerals and cannot wait years for raw material deals, the bloc's industry chief Stephane Sejourne said on Wednesday.

Sejourne told journalists the EU needed to move faster and simplify permits after too many projects have been abandoned, adding that recycling will likely be the EU's ultimate solution to end its dependency on critical raw material imports.

He also said companies need to re-evaluate their risk levels and reduce their exposure to supplies from China.