TALKING MINERALS, MAKING LAWS A comparative frame analysis of the legislative procedure of the Critical Raw Materials Act

Abstract

The European Union is critically dependent on a secure supply of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) for the green and digital transition. In response, the EU adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) in 2024 to reduce external dependencies and secure domestic supply. While previous research has examined the content and implications of the CRMA, less attention has been paid to how the EU’s legislative institutions framed CRMs during the legislative procedure. This thesis addresses that gap by conducting a comparative framing analysis of the three main legislative institutions, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union, during the legislative procedure of the CRMA. The study applies Entman’s (1993) framing theory, focusing on three analytical frames: geopolitical, security, and environmental. The results show that all three frames were present across the institutions, though expressed in different ways. The European Commission framed CRMs with a technical focus on strategic autonomy, industrial resilience, and circularity. The European Parliament framed CRMs using stronger language in the geopolitical frame and placed particular emphasis on environmental and social safeguards in the environmental frame. The Council, by contrast, emphasised internal risks and long-term efficiency, adopting a more cautious tone, particularly within the security and environmental frames.