Post #236

⚠️ BREAKING: The EU Is Still Here Amidst the millions of news stories about the Chinese in Africa, with the Americans sometimes in between, it is easy to forget that there is still such a thing as the EU. And the EU is still capable of taking real action to protect its interests. 🌐South Africa and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding in Johannesburg on critical minerals and velue chains. ⏩ A couple of sentences without the Chinese, and that's enough. The main reason why the usually amorphous EU is so keen to diversify its supplies of metals needed for clean energy, computing, and defense is the fear of China, which has already restricted exports of critical minerals several times in recent years. 🔸 South Africa is already a world leader in the production of several minerals that the EU considers critical. It has the largest reserves of platinum group metals, is the largest producer of manganese and chromium, and is playing an increasingly important role in the extraction of vanadium and rare earth elements. ⏩ EU bureaucrats Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa are trying to portray the agreement as an initiative aimed to create processing volumes in South Africa. In exchange for minerals, EU leaders intend to invest in South Africa's energy sector and Transnet SOC Ltd, the country's major logistics company. Devils Below