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
ENVI-PA-731606
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Sirpa Pietikäinen
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The rapporteur's draft opinion responds to the Commission's proposed directive on protecting the environment through criminal law, which would replace Directive 2008/99/EC. It finds the current directive too weak and calls for a wider scope, lower thresholds for investigation, and stronger sanctions.¶¶¶ It asks that offences causing death, serious injury or serious, irreversible or long-lasting environmental damage count as aggravating circumstances, and that simple negligence be enough for liability.¶ It supports sanctions for legal persons based on worldwide turnover but proposes raising the percentage to 15, and calls for training, specialised courts and a stronger role for the European Public Prosecutor's Office.¶¶ It also wants public statistical data and action against 'willful blindness' and unlawful conduct covered by illegal authorisations.¶¶¶
Committee position. The rapporteur proposes to strengthen the directive by widening its scope, lowering the threshold for investigations, treating serious harm as an aggravating circumstance, allowing liability for simple negligence, raising turnover-based sanctions to 15%, and improving enforcement and transparency.¶¶¶
Key points
- Directive 2008/99/EC falls short on implementation, is out of line with EU environmental law and leaves out large parts of it.¶
- Environmental crime is the fourth largest criminal activity, is growing, and is linked to international organised crime.¶¶
- It threatens the economy, businesses and human health, and can affect air, water, land, wild species and natural habitats.¶
- The rapporteur calls for a lower threshold for investigations and a wider scope, including conduct knowingly causing human rights violations or substantial environmental damage, possibly ecocide.¶¶
- Operators should have a duty of due diligence and precaution, and the directive must tackle 'willful blindness'.¶
- Offences causing death, serious injury or serious, irreversible or long-lasting damage should be aggravating circumstances, not elements of the crime, and simple negligence should suffice for liability.¶
- The directive should cover conduct that is unlawful even if authorised, when the authorisation is illegal.¶
- Harsher sanctions and stronger enforcement are needed; the rapporteur supports turnover-based sanctions for legal persons but proposes raising the percentage to 15.¶
- Effective enforcement requires capacities, skills, knowledge and training along the full chain, specialised courts, prosecutors and police, and a stronger role for the European Public Prosecutor's Office.¶
- The rapporteur supports better data collection and statistics and proposes making statistical data public alongside consolidated reviews of member states.¶
Who is affected
- Operators and actors: must be aware, conduct due diligence and not turn a blind eye.¶
- Legal persons: sanctions based on total worldwide turnover, with the rapporteur proposing 15%.¶
- Member states: must improve enforcement, training and data collection, and publish statistics.¶¶
- Investigators, prosecutors and judges: need more awareness, competencies and specialised structures.