
Faith Nyasuguta
The EU is under mounting pressure to suspend a controversial minerals deal with Rwanda that has been blamed for fueling the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Calls to freeze the agreement intensified after fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group captured the city of Goma in eastern DRC, escalating a decades-old conflict and raising fears of a regional war.
With the people of Goma, in North Kivu province, facing hunger and relief efforts paralyzed, Belgium, the former colonial power in DRC and Rwanda, is leading calls for the EU to suspend the 2024 agreement, which was intended to boost the flow of critical raw materials for Europe’s microchips and electric car batteries.
Belgium Leads Calls for Suspension
“The international community must consider how to respond because declarations have not been enough,” said Belgium’s Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin last week during a visit to Morocco. “We have the levers, and we have to decide how to use them.”
Diplomatic sources revealed that Belgium has pressed for a suspension of the EU-Rwanda minerals agreement at several levels, including at a meeting of EU foreign ministers last Monday.
Brussels and Kigali signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sustainable raw materials value chains in February 2024. The EU gains access to raw material sources, including tin, tungsten, gold, niobium, and potential lithium and rare earth elements. Rwanda is the world’s largest extractor of the rare earth metal tantalum, used in chemical equipment. The EU has committed 750m Sterling Pounds to Rwanda for developing infrastructure in raw materials extraction, health, and climate resilience.

This funding comes from the Global Gateway, the EU’s 300bn Euros answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects worldwide.
Congo Reacts to the Agreement
After the deal was signed, an infuriated Congolese President, Felix Tshisekedi, described it as “a provocation in very bad taste.”
Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of plundering the DRC’s resources, and several UN reports state that Rwanda uses the M23 group to extract and export minerals. Rwanda denies these allegations, claiming its primary interest in eastern DRC is to eliminate fighters linked to the 1994 genocide.
The U.S. government also raised concerns that armed groups are benefiting from illegal trade in Congolese minerals, including gold and tantalum. The U.S. embassy in DRC reported that “significant quantities” of Congolese minerals are being moved by traders, supported by armed groups and security services, to Rwanda and Uganda, where they are then sold to international buyers. “In many cases, these minerals directly or indirectly benefit armed groups,” the statement said.
The UN has asserted that Rwanda has “de facto control” over the M23 rebels, who are well-equipped and well-trained.
Growing Pressure on the EU
Hilde Vautmans, a Belgian liberal MEP ( Members of the European Parliament )leading the European Parliament’s EU-Africa delegation, has backed calls to suspend the agreement. “Given the overwhelming evidence that Rwanda is involved in supporting the M23 rebels in eastern Congo, it is imperative that the EU takes urgent action,” she said, listing targeted sanctions, a freeze on EU development aid, and the immediate suspension of the MoU as necessary steps.
A further 15 MEPs including Greens, liberals, and left-wing politicians have made the same demand for suspending the EU agreement. In a recent letter, they argued that the MoU failed to consider Rwanda’s role in eastern DRC and “unjustifiably grants international legitimacy to the Rwandan regime.”
“The EU must not be complicit in the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in North Kivu,” the letter emphasized.
Emily Stewart, who works on transition minerals at the NGO Global Witness, said there was a “clear moral imperative” to suspend the agreement.
“The situation in Goma highlights the importance of ensuring that the energy transition does not further embed inequalities and conflict already experienced in mineral-rich regions. The current rush for minerals has the potential to embolden violent and bad-faith actors. To counter this, agreements and plans for mining transition minerals should be made in tandem with communities.”

International Responses
The UK has suggested suspending aid to Rwanda, while Germany has canceled meetings and stated it is in talks with other donors about “further measures.”
The European Commission has so far dismissed criticism of the 2024 deal with Rwanda. A spokesperson stated last Tuesday that critical materials are “essential to achieving the green and digital transition both within the EU and across the world.”
“One of the main objectives of the partnership MoU with Rwanda is precisely to support the sustainable and responsible sourcing, production, and processing of raw materials. We will now increase our work on traceability and transparency,” the spokesperson added.
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