What makes the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) so special, is that it involves civil society organizations together with representatives from the public and private sectors. The Netherlands has been a big extractor of natural gas from the North Sea for about 50 years, which is why it has been closely involved with the EITI since its inception in the early 2000’s. In 2018, the Netherlands joined EITI bringing its extensive experience (including with ‘Dutch disease’ – the perfect case on how NOT to spend government revenues from extractive industries) to the EITI community. 

Through the implementation of the EITI Standard, Chile will disclose data on the governance of its extractive sector, including company ownership, contracts, state-owned enterprises, revenue distribution, social and environmental impact, and other contextual information.

The Netherlands values EITI’s work as it believes that this transparency is beneficial to the improvement of Economic, Social and Governance standards in the industry. And, with a wink to our characteristic ‘Dutch directness’, the Dutch generally believe that it is better to have a conversation based on the actual problem, and not a perceived one. Increased transparency on procedures, revenues, ownership etcetera leads to better accountability, and more insight into areas of improvement. With this kind of information, extractive industries – in the case of Chile, its mining sector – is equipped to find solutions that rally wide support.

So, a big congratulation to Chile and all the parties that worked on the preparations, and what are friends for if not to help out along the way?

Learn more about Chile’s accession here: https://eiti.org/news/chile-joins-eiti