Societal influences and the European Governance of the Deep Sea

The European Union (EU) has so far ruled out to engage in commercial deep-sea mining. As the EU is heavily dependent on the import of critical raw materials and is trying to become more independent and resilient in the global race for resources, this position seems puzzling. Deep-sea mining appears to be a promising option to secure the EU’s access to critical raw materials and to prevent bottlenecks that could pose a risk to success in global technology competition, the energy transition or European security. The growing interest of players from all over the world in the deep sea is creating a new frontier for the EU. This paper argues that societal influences have shaped the EU’s preferences on deep-sea mining via societal ideas and material interests prevailing within the European Union. Based on a thematic analysis of position papers, official statements, survey data and qualitative interviews with politicians, business representatives and non-governmental organizations, the following is shown: There are strong value-based collective societal expectations about appropriate government positions on deep-sea governance, favoring high levels of protection and strict rules. At the same time, NGOs have been prominently involved in the debate through their campaigns, while material interests have so far been more cautiously expressed by the economy. This suggests that elected politicians at the European level are also guided by domestic preferences and societal ideas play a decisive role in determining European Politics. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the European position on deep-sea mining and ocean governance and strengthens domestic approaches in the broader debate on the development of European Foreign and Security Policy.