Diplomatic sources say the bloc is facing calls to suspend its wide-ranging minerals agreement with Rwanda amid fears it is inflaming the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prompted calls on Brussels to review an agreement with the Rwandan government intended to secure the supply of critical materials used in smartphones and electric cars.
The deal, signed in February last year, was hailed by Brussels as a key step in securing the supply of highly-sought materials needed to power the so-called green and digital transition, but criticised for turning a blind eye to the illicit trade of minerals that are plundered by Rwandan-backed rebels in the DRC, as documented by the United Nations (UN).
In recent days, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have consolidated control of parts of the city of Goma in the mineral-rich North Kivu province in eastern DRC and are reportedly advancing into the South Kivu province, a major escalation considered a violation of international law.
The incursion has focused on areas dense with mines for extracting gold, coltan, tin, tantalum and other critical materials and rare earths. Congolese and UN officials have long accused Rwanda of using M23 rebels to seize mines and smuggle minerals out of eastern DRC and into their own supply chains.
Critics say the EU-Rwanda agreement is enabling ‘conflict minerals’ to enter global and European supply chains. Funds from smuggled minerals are suspected to help finance the armed groups responsible for the spiralling conflict, with devastating humanitarian consequences for civilians in the eastern DRC.
On Wednesday, Belgium’s foreign minister Bernard Quintin said he had urged his European counterparts to take action. “We have levers and we have to decide how to use them,” Quintin told reporters during a visit to Morocco.
Diplomatic sources have told Euronews that Belgium has tabled the suspension of the EU minerals agreement.
The chair of the European Parliament’s Africa delegation, Hilde Vautmans, also said on Thursday that the EU executive must send a “clear message” to Rwandan president Paul Kagame by suspending its agreement until “Rwanda proves it is ceasing its interference.”
Euronews breaks down what we know about the conflict and the pressure on the EU to respond.
What’s happening in eastern DRC?
The roots of the long-standing conflict in DRC’s borderlands with Rwanda can be traced back to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, when about 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists.
A Tutsi-led insurgency led by Rwanda’s current president Paul Kagame brought the genocide to an end, prompting around one million Hutus to flee from Rwanda to territories in neighbouring DRC.
The region has been ravaged by conflict, including two consecutive wars, for the past 30 years and ethnic tensions are still rife.
The M23 is Tutsi-led and claims it is protecting the rights of a minority Tutsi ethnic group in eastern DRC.
An armed Hutu group created by former leaders of the Rwanda genocide, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), is also still active in the region. Rwanda says the FDLR is a threat to its own security and argues there is a continued threat of genocide against the Tutsis.
This week, the M23 group gained control of most parts of the city of Goma, a major transport and trading hub in the DRC which sits on the border with Rwanda. Intense and deadly clashes between government forces and rebels were reported.
The group has also reportedly captured other key towns considered essential for the trade and transport of minerals in the region.
UN experts say there is evidence that the Rwandan armed forces are in “de facto control” of M23’s operations, providing the group with training and weapons.
While the Rwandan president has consistently denied the state’s support for M23, the evidence has stacked up, with UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix stating this week “there was no question that there are Rwandan troops in Goma supporting the M23.”
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the EU executive also said that the bloc was urging Rwanda to “cease support and cooperation with the armed group, M23.”
What is the EU’s deal with Rwanda?
Brussels and Kigali signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ in February 2024 to ensure a “sustainable supply of raw materials” for the EU, in exchange for funding to develop Rwanda’s mineral supply chains and infrastructure.
It’s part of Global Gateway, the EU’s €300-billion infrastructure partnership plan, and is among a raft of similar deals with mineral-rich countries, including the DRC, aimed at reducing dependency on geo-strategic rival China.
More than €900 million of the Global Gateway pot is allocated to Rwanda.
The then-EU chief for international partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, described the deal as ensuring “sustainable, transparent and resilient value chain of critical raw materials.”
The deal describes Rwanda as a “major player” in global tantalum extraction, and a producer of tin, tungsten, gold and niobium. It also notes the country’s “potential” for extracting lithium – used in batteries of electric cars – and rare earths.
“When you look at the geological composition of Rwanda, it’s not possible that they mine what they export,” Guillaume de Brier of the Antwerp-based International Peace Information Service (IPIS), which carries out research on the ground, told Euronews, a claim was also made last year by US Department of State.
Meanwhile, Rwandan President Kagame is considered to have struck cordial relations with European leaders, and has also marketed his country as a partner in European efforts to manage migratory flows.
In September last year, a German official in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s outgoing government reportedly suggested accommodation developed for the UK-Rwanda asylum plan could be repurposed for asylum seekers arriving in Germany.
Why are there calls for the minerals deal to be suspended?
There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that rebels backed by Kigali in DRC are fraudulently exporting minerals into Rwanda.
A June 2024 UN report concludes that M23 has established a “parallel administration” controlling mining activities and trade in the DRC, exporting at least 150 tons of coltan to Rwanda.
The UN also estimates that M23 is generating around $300,000 (€288,000) a month in revenue through its control of a mining territory in eastern DRC.
Meanwhile, Rwanda has scaled up its mineral exports from $772 million (€741 million) in 2022 to $1.1 billion (€1.06 billion) in 2023, and deepened its trading relations with global partners.
The DRC’s finance minister claimed last year the country was losing almost $1 billion in gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten smuggled illegally by Rwanda.
The government in Kinshasa recently filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of Apple, accusing the tech giant of using conflict minerals. The law firm representing the DRC has claimed at least nine refiners supplying Apple with tantalum source the material from Rwanda, while Rwanda’s own production of the material is “near zero.”
How could the EU respond?
Belgium, the former colonial power in the DRC, has led calls for a firm EU response.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson on behalf of the EU’s diplomatic arm said the bloc was “ready to consider new restrictive measures against those responsible for sustaining the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in the DRC.”
But calls for re-opening the minerals deal have so far been dismissed. On Tuesday, a European Commission spokesperson said: “The partnership we signed with Rwanda has as one of its main objectives to support the sustainable and responsible sourcing and production and processing of raw materials.”
“The goal of the Memorandum of Understanding with Rwanda is precisely to increase the traceability the transparency and to enforce the fight against the illegal trafficking of minerals,” the spokesperson added.
The EU also supports Rwandan forces deployed to address the rising Islamist insurgency in oil-rich Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique, allocating an additional €20 million under the so-called European Peace Facility (EPF) last November.
Asked on Thursday whether the Rwandan forces’ suspected support to M23 could lead to EPF funds being revoked, a spokesperson declined to comment, but noted that such a decision would require the unanimous support of all EU member states.
