Strasbourg, 15/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the resolution of Giuseppe Gargani (Forza Italia) on the consequences of the Commission versus Council ruling of 13 September 2005 (523 votes for, 78 against, with 57 abstentions) on Member States being obliged to lay down penal sanctions for environmental infringements, Parliament has expressed its satisfaction that the Court has reaffirmed that the European legislator has the power to adopt, as part of the first pillar, the penal sanctions necessary to ensure the effectiveness of norms in this pillar, with regard to environmental protection. It is, however, calling on the Commission to not automatically extend the Court of Justice conclusions to all areas covered in the first pillar. It is insisting on the urgency of defining a coherent political strategy on the use of penal sanctions in European legislation whatever the legal basis or “pillar” on which they are founded. An “inter-pillar strategy” in this area, it explains, is also required: very close cooperation between the Union institutions and those of the Member States; flexibility with regard to the definition of the nature and scope of sanctions to prevent “penal dumping” and cooperation between the different legal authorities.
Parliament points out that it is also necessary to respect the legal balances established at national level for penal matters and calls for closer cooperation between national parliaments and for the Commission to collaborate with Eurojust and the European legal network to implement “feedback systems” on Member States' application of penal sanctions.
The Parliament also cities the initiative of the Appeals Court of Member States to set up a network for debating themes of common interest, including the co-existence of European and national provisions in penal matters.
The Assembly says that it agrees with the Commission on the need to withdraw or amend pending legislative proposals if they are founded on a legal basis judged to be incorrect following the Court decision, but it also considers that the Commission should re-examine the acts that it has retained “on a case by case basis rather than proceeding to a generalisation in an indistinct fashion”. It should also apply the Court of Justice ruling “cautiously” and always in cooperation with the Council and Parliament. MEPs will re-examine the acts in force and correct their legal basis, while keeping the contents intact so that Parliament is not deprived of its “inalienable right of legislator”. Parliament points out that Community law can only prevail with minimum rules in the form of directives, for the imposition of penal sanctions in Member States.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice is annulling framework-decision 2003/80/JHA of the Council (2003/80/JA) of 27 January 2003 on environmental protection through penal law because it was adopted outside of the Community legislative framework, which is supported by the European Commission (EUROPE 9026).