EU-Kazakhstan Strategic Partnership Roadmap 2025-2026 on Raw Materials, Batteries, and Renewable Hydrogen

Mechanism

The Roadmap is the first implementation instrument under the EU-Kazakhstan MoU of 7 November 2022, elevated to Summit level at Samarkand — the inaugural EU-Central Asia Head-of-State Summit, signalling a structural EU pivot toward Central Asia as a critical-minerals supply corridor. It activates four concrete workstreams for 2025-2026:

1. Geological exploration: EU-KZ cooperation across the entire raw-materials value chain, including joint geological surveys and sharing of EU exploration methodologies in Kazakhstan's under-mapped rare-earth and battery-mineral deposits.

2. R&I cooperation: Linkage with Horizon Europe programmes and joint research projects on processing technology, beneficiation, and circular-economy applications.

3. Skills and training: Capacity-building for Kazakhstani industry aligned with EU environmental and technical standards, supporting workforce development ahead of anticipated greenfield processing investments.

4. ESG/CRMA alignment: Promotion of best practices and ESG standards under the EU CRMA framework (Reg. (EU) 2024/1252, Art. 37 Strategic Partnership criteria), enabling Kazakhstan to qualify for CRMA-designated Strategic Partner status and associated Global Gateway financing.

The Roadmap is structurally distinct from the parallel US-Kazakhstan Critical Minerals MoU (2025-11-06-us-kazakhstan-critical-minerals-mou, US NMPP framing) — the EU instrument emphasises regulatory harmonisation, Horizon-linked R&I, and CRMA Art. 37 designation pathways rather than the US-side defence/FEOC-clean supply-chain framing.

Downstream implications

• First CRMA Art. 37 Summit-level bilateral to be operationalised in Central Asia — sets a

precedent for EU-Uzbekistan, EU-Kyrgyz Republic equivalents expected 2025-2026.

• Global Gateway pipeline: Kazakhstan is already a Major Global Gateway investment

destination; the Roadmap formalises the linkage between CRMA Strategic-Partner designation and blended-finance instruments (EIB, EBRD), potentially unlocking €2-3bn in project-finance pipelines for battery-mineral processing.

• Supply-chain rebalancing: Kazakhstan holds ~3% of global rare-earth reserves, ~40% of

global uranium output, and significant deposits of chromium, manganese, titanium, and beryllium. EU linkage structurally reduces the CN-RU routing share for these outputs.

• REMX/LIT exposure: Any greenfield EU-aligned processing capacity in KZ would benefit REMX

(rare-earth miners), LIT (lithium/battery-materials chain), and COPX (copper) if copper-belt exploration cooperation advances.

• Statutory leverage context: The 2025-12-26-kazakhstan-subsoil-code-amendments-uranium-priority

gives the KZ government legal instruments to prioritise CRMA-aligned exporters — the Roadmap creates the regulatory-alignment channel through which that leverage is exercised.

Open questions

• Timeline for formal CRMA Art. 37 Strategic Partner designation vote in the European Parliament

and Council — designation triggers binding supply-chain benchmarks and CRMA monitoring obligations on Kazakhstan.

• Whether the Horizon Europe linkage will extend to KZ research institutions under the existing

KZ-EU Science & Technology Cooperation Agreement (2015), or requires a new association agreement.

• Extent to which Global Gateway financing will crowd-in private European mining capital

(Glencore, Rio Tinto, TotalEnergies Renewables) vs. remaining state-to-state blended finance.

• Progress on ESG convergence: KZ's mining sector retains significant environmental liabilities

from Soviet-era extraction; CRMA Art. 37(4) compliance will require independent audits.