Directive (EU) 2024/1203 on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC

What it is

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: criminal law is one part of a comprehensive EU strategy to protect and improve the status of the environment. The current EU legislation that provides common minimum rules to criminalise environmental crime is Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of environment through criminal law. Criminal law measures come in as a last resort when other measures have not sufficed to ensure compliance. Enforcement gaps have been identified in all Member States and at all levels of the enforcement chain (police, prosecution and criminal courts). The lack of coordination between administrative and criminal law enforcement and sanctioning often hinders effectiveness. CONTENT: the proposed Directive establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions to protect the environment more effectively. The Committee on Legal Affairs adopted the report by Antonius MANDERS (EPP, NL) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: The report strengthened the subject matter of the proposed Directive stating that it should establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions as well as concerning the measures, means and resources necessary to prevent and combat environmental crime and to properly enforce the Union’s environmental law, in order to protect the environment more effectively. Members proposed to include the definition of 'environmental damage' to mean serious harm to any person’s health, or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to biodiversity, ecosystem services and functions, animals or plants, which is detrimental to anything that grows, blooms and lives, including but not limited to the damage as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2004/35/CE on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage. The report stated that Member States should ensure that the following conduct constitutes a criminal offence when it is unlawful and committed intentionally: - the discharge, emission or introduction of a quantity of materials or substances, energy, or ionising radiation into air, soil or water which causes or is likely to cause death or serious harm to any person’s health or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to biodiversity, ecosystem services and functions, animals or plants; - the placing on the market or illegal trade, including online, of a product, the use of which, in breach of a prohibition or another requirement, causes or is likely to cause death or serious harm to any person’s health or substantial…

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