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Sustainable Mining in the European Union: The Legislative Aspect

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Abstract

This paper is a review of the community legislation of the European Union (“acquis communautaire”) with regard to the mineral extractive industry. It highlights the existing inconsistencies of the acquis, which require correction. Historically, the mining industry has received privileged treatment within the European Community. The treaties declare the promotion of a policy of using natural resources prudently and rationally to avoid their unconsidered exhaustion. However, mining is excluded from the scope of major environmental directives or reserves a certain freedom for interpretation. This has led to an increasing number of related cases at the European Court of Justice.The regulatory tools of the environmental acquis are rather diverse in controlling the emission sources, the pollution pathways, and the impacted receptor media through administrative measures or assigning environmental quality targets. A combined approach is needed for controlling the environmental impacts of the extractive industries. The amendment of the Seveso II Directive, the elaboration of a reference document on best available techniques and the preparation of a wide-scope directive on mining waste management might provide a frame for the elimination of the above discrepancies. In addition, a coherent European Community policy based on the balanced consideration of economic, environmental, and social aspects could ensure a sustainable development of the mining industry.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement is made to Giovanni Bidoglio for his support; to reviewers Corina Hebestreit, Kai Nielsen, F. Ludwig Wilke, and to Martin Hedemann-Robinson, who helped with mapping the judgements of the European Court; and to David Pennington who improved the English of the text. The conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the official view of the European Commission.

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  1. Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Soil and Waste Unit, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, I-21020 Ispra (VA), Italy

    Tamás Hámor

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  1. Tamás Hámor
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Correspondence to Tamás Hámor.

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Hámor, T. Sustainable Mining in the European Union: The Legislative Aspect . Environmental Management 33, 252–261 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0081-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0081-7

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