A New Chapter of Ocean Governance and the European Union: Codification Efforts and Prospects of a Moratorium at the International Seabed Authority

Abstract The International Seabed Authority ( ISA ) is at a turning point, due to the urgency to approve exploitation regulations provoked by the triggering of the ‘two-year rule’. This article addresses this issue from the perspective of the European Union (EU), which has repeatedly called for a moratorium on exploitation activities. After providing a summary of the applicable ISA legal regime, the analysis focuses on EU environmental policies (including the so-called ‘Green Deal’) and the principles on which they are founded. The position of the EU in the negotiation of the 2023 Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction is considered because of the similar environmental stances in the two domains. Following an overview of the position of EU’s institutions on deep seabed mining activities, the main points are critically outlined.