What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

The rapporteur welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC.

Directive 2008/99/EC introduced an important principle to the Environmental Union legal framework that environmental crimes should be combatted and the offenders punished for them in all of the EU Member States. This was an essential element in making sure that the polluter pays principle is respected and the EU environmental acquis is followed.

The Directive, despite the good intentions, has not delivered on all of its goals. It has not been revised until now and the Commission’s evaluation in 2020 showed fundamental problems in the application of the Directive across the Member States. Among the main issues, the Commission enumerated:

 lack of comprehensive data on environmental crimes;

 lack of clarity with regard to certain legal terms;

 significant differences in sanctions applied by Member States, including accessory sanctions and sanctions for legal persons;

 lack of flexibility in adapting the scope of the Directive;

 shortcomings in the cross-border cooperation, including deficiencies in awareness among public prosecutors and judges.

These issues also resulted in a lack of uniformity in legal and practical terms and differences in implementation and application of Union rules regarding environmental crime. This caused an unequal level playing field and impaired the proper functioning of the internal market. Therefore, the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law is very timely. The rapporteur proposes to address the lack of uniformity by calling for further harmonisation and considerations to complement this Directive with other policy fields, such as fully uniformity by means of a regulation.

The existing problems in effective combatting environmental crimes created incentives in most of the Member States for offenders to circumvent EU or national legal provisions concerning environmental protection as the risk of conviction was low and sanctions often did not have the deterrent effect. Moreover, environmental crimes are frequently linked with organised criminal activities of cross-border dimension, such as illicit waste shipment or trade in protected species. For example, the annual revenue of illicit waste market is estimated between 4 billion euros and 15 billion euros .

The rapporteur therefore proposes to:

 improve the effectiveness of investigations and prosecution of environmental crimes;

 clarifying relevant legal terms;

 improve the collection of data;

 ensure effective, dissuasive and proportionate sanction types and levels;

 strengthen prevention measures.

The rapporteur proposes to achieve this, inter alia, by raising fines for legal persons, so that the maximum limit is not less than 10 percent of the average worldwide turnover of the legal person in the last three business years, which is more in line with EU Competition Law. In addition, the rapporteur proposes to extend the limitation periods for environmental criminal offences, as it is often difficult to discover within a shorter period the committed crimes and the extent and harmful consequences thereof.

Furthermore, in line with Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the precautionary principle applies to Union policy on the environment and prevention is key. Important deterrents against environmental crime are comprehensive and effective prevention measures and dissuasive and proportionate criminal sanctions and penalties. The polluter should pay and bear the full costs of the environmental harm caused. The rapporteur proposes that the polluter pays targeted fines, which in part contribute to preventative measures. This makes it possible for one environmental crime that is committed to prevent other environmental crimes.

It is also important to create more awareness about environmental crime and damage worldwide. This is necessary as the globalisation of business activities means that, for example, EU based companies could be involved in criminal activities outside the territory of the Union. Highlighting the active work by the United Nations, such as the efforts on strengthening the legal framework by including a definition of ecocide, is essential.

The rapporteur is confident that through a strong position of the European Parliament this Directive will lead to the effective combatting of environmental crimes on EU and international level, leading to the desired prevention of environmental damage and strengthening of an equal level playing field for Union industry.