The EU is struggling to free itself from dependence on China and countries in the global south for critical minerals and rare earths needed for everything from smartphones to wind turbines and military jets.

A damning report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in Luxembourg found that the bloc’s targets for 2030 were “out of reach” because of lack of progress in domestic production, refining and recycling.

“It is therefore vital for the EU to up its game and reduce its vulnerability in this area,” said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the ECA member responsible for the audit.

The report, which examines the EU’s ability to meet its target of 42.5% of energy from renewables in 2030, exposes a gulf between rhetoric and reality.

In one of the most damning conclusions, it notes that not only is mining and exploration “underdeveloped” in the EU but “even when new deposits are found, it can take 20 years for an EU mining project to become operational”.

“This makes any concrete contribution by the 2030 deadline hard to imagine,” the report notes.

It comes as UK prime minister Keir Starmer agreed to accelerate cooperation with Japan on critical minerals during talks in Tokyo on Saturday with his counterpart, Sanae Takaichi.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has convened a summit of about 20 countries in Washington on Wednesday to coordinate diversification of mineral supplies, including the lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements needed for solar panels, wind turbines and car batteries.

The symbols and atomic numbers of rare earth elements. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

The summit is seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China.

A map of the suppliers shows the dependency on the east, particularly China and Russia, which supplies 29% of nickel used in the auto and aerospace sectors.

The EU is heavily reliant on China for seven of the 26 minerals studied, importing: 97% of its magnesium, which is used in hydrogen production; 71% of gallium, used in smartphones and satellite communications; and 31% of tungsten, used in drilling and mining.

On rare earths, China controls between 69% and 74% of six important rare earths including two minerals – neodymium and praseodymium – which are needed to make permanent magnets used in everything from car locking systems to fridge doors and wind turbines.

Brussels has previously revealed that of 20,000 tonnes of permanent magnets used by EU industry in 2024, 17,000 tonnes came from China.

Lithium, also needed for car batteries, largely hails from Chile, while Turkey supplies 99% of boron, used in solar panels, the ECA found.

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China. Photograph: China Stringer Network/Reuters

“Many strategic projects will struggle to secure their supply of critical raw materials by 2030,” the ECA said, noting that “the EU may be trapped in a vicious circle”.

“Without critical raw materials, there will be no energy transition, no competitiveness, and no strategic autonomy. Unfortunately, we are now dangerously dependent on a handful of countries outside the EU for the supply of these materials,” said Pentus-Rosimannus.

The report comes as EU industry commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said Europe was “doomed to be just a playground for its competitors” unless it develops “an ambitious, effective and pragmatic industrial policy”.

The ECA concluded that “efforts to diversify imports have yet to produce tangible results”, noting that partnerships with seven countries that have poor governance resulted in supplies falling rather than increasing between 2020 and 2024.

Of the main 26 critical minerals, 10 are fully imported, while none of the 17 rare earth metals are mined in the bloc. Recycling also lags behind: just 16 critical raw materials are recycled in the bloc.