On 4 June 2025, as part of EU Green Week, the European Parliament hosted the high-level breakfast debate ‘Urban Mining: Unlocking Secondary Resources for a Circular Economy‘, under the patronage of MEP Susana Solís Pérez. This EU Green Week Partner event was co-organised by the European Federation of Geologists, RemTech Europe, the Geological Survey of Belgium, Geologica Belgica Luxemburga Scientia et Professionis, UNICALCE, and the Horizon Europe FIC-Fighters project.
Speakers and moderators of the event (from left to right): David Govoni, Marco Falconi, Marta Cerati, Susana Solís Pérez, Christian Burlet, Silvia Paparella, Nino Tarantino, Anita Stein, Vanessa Montoya, and Rudi Ruggeri.
With the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) now in force, aiming to secure at least 15% of strategic raw materials from recycled sources by 2030, the debate brought together leading voices from policy, science, and industry to explore how urban mining can help meet this target and drive the EU’s shift toward a circular, resource-resilient economy.
Vanessa Montoya, Environmental Scientist and former FIC-Fighters project partner, highlighted how our project promotes the recovery of valuable resources from phosphogypsum waste – an important step toward resource efficiency in industrial by-products.
Watch the event recording here: