Regulation of Dredging Operations within the Framework of the Law of the European Union and its Peculiarities

INTRODUCTION. Dredging is an activity aimed at increasing the depth of a specific water area by extracting bottom sediments. This activity is carried out using a special type of technical fleet vessels – dredgers. The high technical complexity of dredging operations, their environmental impact, and the unique nature of this activity, which requires the use of specialized vessels, necessitate a comprehensive regulatory framework. The European Union (EU, Union) is home to leading companies providing dredging services, making the EU’s regulatory approach to this sector of particular interest.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. This article examines the legal aspects of dredging regulation in the EU. The author relies on the works of both Russian and foreign scholars dedicated to the legal and operational specifics of dredging activities. Given the topic of this study, the works of Russian scholars primarily focus on general aspects of dredging operations, whereas foreign researchers address specific regulatory issues within the EU. The study is based on an analysis of EU legal acts, including primary EU law, such as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as well as secondary EU law—various directives and regulations governing dredging operations. The author also examines case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) related to dredging activities and the operation of dredging vessels. Additionally, the study considers global international treaties on navigation and other sources of international law. The research methodology includes formal legal analysis, legal hermeneutics, and comparative methods.
RESULTS. The EU does not classify dredging as a transport service but rather regulates it as an engineering, hydraulic, and construction activity. This approach is both justified and widely applied: navigability is a secondary aspect of dredging, whereas the primary objective is sediment extraction. The EU’s regulatory model for dredging can be characterized as flexible, as it balances the fundamental principle of the freedom to provide services with the necessity of protecting critical infrastructure, which allows for restrictions on access to the EU dredging market on security grounds. However, the study identifies gaps in the regulation of extracted sediment, which, depending on the circumstances, may be classified either as waste or as a secondary resource. Additionally, there is a lack of detailed rules governing the access of foreign companies to the EU dredging market.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION. The flexibility of the EU’s regulatory approach to dredging allows for adaptation to specific project conditions, which is one of its key advantages. However, the absence of a uniform approach to the legal status of extracted sediment creates uncertainty in regulatory enforcement. Moreover, although EU law provides for restrictions on market access for third-country companies, these restrictions are currently implemented through measures against foreign subsidies rather than direct market access limitations, which contradicts the original intent of such restrictions. Overall, the EU's regulatory experience in this sector can be considered positive, though requiring further refinement and improvement.

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