CETA Threatens EU Member States: Mining

The briefing argues that CETA's 'domestic regulatory disciplines' limit the discretion of regulators in EU Member States, specifically using Greece as a case study. It highlights that Greek mining laws—which rely on expert judgment, public input, and evolving scientific data—may be vulnerable to legal challenges under CETA's requirements that licensing processes be 'objective' and 'established in advance'.

• CETA introduces 'domestic regulatory disciplines' that set standards for domestic licensing processes, which the document argues are designed to 'limit the amount of discretion, and therefore authority, that regulators can exercise in licensing processes.'
• Greek mining regulations, including those governing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and technical studies (KMLE), contain standards that require subjective judgment, which may conflict with CETA's requirement for regulations to be 'clear, transparent, and objective.'
• Specific Greek regulatory triggers, such as the ability to deny permits based on 'extremely significant' environmental impacts or the 'danger of significant deterioration' of surrounding spaces, are identified as vulnerable to CETA challenges because the determination of 'significant' is subjective.
• Requirements for mining operators to use the 'best available technique' or to 'minimize the esthetic degradation' of the landscape could be challenged under CETA for not being 'as simple as possible.'
• The inclusion of public participation in the EIA process is highlighted as a potential point of vulnerability, as companies may argue that the consideration of non-commercial public input is 'subjective.'
• The evolving nature of mining regulation, such as the power to modify conditions based on new inspections or require new EIAs when environmental impacts change, may be challenged as failing CETA's requirement that regulations be 'established in advance.'

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). CETA Threatens EU Member States: Mining. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIEL_CETA-mining_March2018.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. CETA Threatens EU Member States: Mining. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIEL_CETA-mining_March2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=CETA Threatens EU Member States: Mining |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIEL_CETA-mining_March2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndceta, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{CETA Threatens EU Member States: Mining}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIEL_CETA-mining_March2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }