UPCOMING EVENTS

🎙️ Guests:

• Keynote Speaker - Gilles BRIATTA, Senior Counsel at Gide Loyrette Nouel
• EU Competitivness & Energy Policy - Michel DERDEVET, Executive Vice-president at Naarea, Senior Advisor at EY Parthenon, President at Confrontations Europe
• EU Competitivness & Digital Policy - Myriam EL ANDALOUSSI, Lawyer at CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats
• EU Competitivness & Health Policy - Jean-Régis KUNEGEL, Corporate Legal & Compliance Counsel at Acino
• Students from the ESSEC European Affairs Track
• Moderator: Prof. Viviane DE BEAUFORT, Director of the Center for European Law & the Economy

🎙️ Guests:

• Opening Remarks - Prof Aurélien COLSON, Academic Co-Director, ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business
• Pascale MASSOT, Associate Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, and Author of China's Vulnerability Paradox : How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets (Oxford University Press, 2024)
• Christophe POINSSOT, Director-General Delegate of BRGM
• Thierry VIRCOULON, Associate Research Fellow at IFRI, Coordinator of the IFRI Observatory of Central and Southern Africa
• Moderator: Ambassador Daniel JOUANNEAU, Senior Fellow at the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business
• Closing Remarks - Thomas FRIANG, Executive Director, ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business

Synopsis - Critical minerals—such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements—are the backbone of the energy and digital transitions. As global demand surges, these raw materials have become strategic assets, triggering a fundamental reshaping of geopolitical alignments and economic dependencies.

In this webinar, the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business brings together leading international experts to explore how governments and industries are navigating the growing scramble for critical resources. The discussion will address:

• The strategic rivalries emerging around critical mineral supply chains;
• Economic and political vulnerabilities arising from concentrated production zones;
• Environmental and ethical challenges in mining and processing;
• Policy options for balancing security of supply with sustainable development.

Featuring insights from academic, diplomatic, and industrial perspectives, this session will shed light on the complex interplay between geopolitics, markets, and climate imperatives.