The study has been prepared by a consortium of ex-perts led by Milieu Ltd and including the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IE-ЕР), ICF International and Ecosystems Ltd.

March 2016

The four most important elements:

I.    State strength
A state which is legitimate and capable at all levels (national, regional, and local). 
A government whose policy decisions are credible and broadly accepted and an administrative apparatus that can implement these.

II.    Limits to state strength 
Institutional checks and balances that support the legitimacy of government and the administrative apparatus, and guard against abuse of state power at all levels (national, regional, local).

III.    Compatibility of formal and informal rights, institutions and rules
Legitimacy of formal economic institutions guarding essential necessities of a stable economy (exchange rate, fiscal sustainability).

IV.    Technical capacity of the public sector and decision makers at all levels

Investment is a leading source of economic growth, job creation, infrastructure, competition, international trade and innovation. Countries with a high level of investment systematically achieve higher levels of development in more sustainable ways. A central question among policy makers is therefore how to enhance investment? Bearing in mind that investment is triggered and influenced by a multitude of factors, and that international investment agreements (IIAs) are not substitute for long-term and comprehensive improvements towards a transparent, rules-based pro-business policy environment, they do play a fundamental role by providing an additional layer of security to foreign investors. Thus, they can be an important factor for host countries to attracting more foreign direct investments (FDI), both in quantity and quality. 

National minerals policies that ensure security of supply of important raw materials and ensure the sustainability of the extractive operations as well as their products are crucial to economic policies.

Therefore it is important that each country has such a policy and ensures that it includes considerations and objectives of other relevant policies, such industrial and trade, environment energy and climate change policies, health and safety and consumer protection policies, as well as regional development and employment policies.  However, it is also important that raw material policies are not jeopardised by uncoordinated policy making in the afore-mentioned areas. 

And whilst it is important to update and modernise  raw materials policies and adapt them to developments of the country it should be noted that raw material investments are long-term investments and therefore are sensitive to frequent, quick and unpredicted  changes.

The guidance is intended to promote the continued development of sound scientific approaches for the classification of O&Cs and will assist the industry in achieving a harmonised approach to classification and labelling.

You don’t have to look far to find someone prepared to knock the European Union. This feels particularly true for Mining Journal, based in the UK, where an ‘In-Out’ referendum on EU membership in June has provoked an increase in anti-EU rhetoric.
In mining circles, at times, it’s not much better....

Euromines Annual Report 2015 "The Sustainable Goods and Services we provide" is now available. The theme of this year’s report includes four chapters covering the most important areas of Euromines day-to-day work. It highlights a number of achievements in the field of policy, innovation, exploration, environment, energy, health & safety and communication issues.

Both the European Union and our own industry face ‘hard times’ at the moment. However our industry always invests for a better future. As expressed by Euromines President Mr. Mark Rachovides "When we say that European companies “lead the World” that goes beyond profits or market share. Value and investment is expressed in innovation and development but also in conduct. European Companies deliver to the highest standards in the world in all respects and in this annual report we set out some examples of how that is achieved.

European values must be relevant to today’s Europeans. In the Book of Deuteronomy we are guided that “Justice, and only justice you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land..” Mining must be recognised as beneficial to our society, as a responsible and reliable industry and partner that provides both prosperity and hope to Europe..”

We hope you will enjoy reading it.

For hard copies please contact our secretariat: secretariat@euromines.be

From exquisite architecture, housing and infrastructure to everyday items such as toothpaste and mirrors; mining provides valuable resources for essential consumer goods. “Before it’s yours, we mine it” highlights the importance of minerals and metals in our daily life. Come and discover interesting facts about them.

From outstanding constructions to daily essentials…

In the PDF file below you can find a preview of the first couple of pages of the book and the page with the table of contents.

If you wish to order a hard copy of the book please contact:

Ms. Azi Bairami
secretariat@euromines.be

The price: €25

In this issue of Euromines Newsletter focused on Europe’s Energy and Climate Change Policy you will find the following articles:

• A new Climate Change Agreement – December 2015
• The EU’s policy on the Energy Union
• Energy efficiency - Stakeholder consultation
• ETS revision - Stakeholder Consultation
• The ETS revision and the increasing pace of emission reduction
• Assessment of Trade and Emissions intensity
• The European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources

This paper captures some of the emerging consensus points that came out of the workshop “Mineral Resources in Life Cycle Impact Assessment: Mapping the path forward”, held at the Natural History Museum London on 14 October 2015: that current practices rely in many instances on obsolete data, often confuse resource depletion with impacts on resource availability, which can therefore provide inconsistent decision support and lead to misguided claims about environmental performance. Participants agreed it would be helpful to clarify which models estimate depletion and which estimate availability, so that results can be correctly reported in the most appropriate framework. Most participants suggested that resource availability will be more meaningfully addressed within a comprehensive Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework rather than limited to an environmental Life Cycle Assessment or Footprint.

Supporting publications from The United States Geological Survey and Leiden University are also freely available in the same Special Issue of the journal "resources":
(http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/5/1/14, http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/5/1/16)