Brussels, 06/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the Commission is due to adopt a draft directive obliging member states to consider criminal sanctions for environmental crimes. The Commission considers that the definition of environmental crimes varies hugely from one member state to another, and that in many member states, the level of sanctions is too low. The proposal aims, therefore, to ensure that there is a minimum level of protection of the environment under criminal law throughout the EU.
Member states will be required to ensure that a range of activities such as the illegal shipment of waste, unlawful trade in endangered species and in ozone-depleting substances) already prohibited by EU or national legislation are considered criminal offences. Member state will have to ensure that their criminal law provides for an effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanction for serious infringements against the environment. Prison sentences will be set at a maximum of at least between one and ten years and fines will be at most between €300,000 and €1.5 million. The directive provides for aggravating circumstances. Maximum sentences and fines could, for example, be incurred by industries which intentionally commit particularly serious environmental crimes, e.g. when these crimes result in death or serious injury or if they cause serious damage to the soil, water, animals or plants, or they were committed within the framework of a criminal organisation.
In September 2005, the European Court of Justice confirmed that the Community was competent to adopt criminal law measures to protect the environment if they were necessary to ensure the effective transposition of its environmental policy. The Court consequently annulled the framework decision on environmental crimes adopted by the Council in 2003 on the basis of Title VI, the so-called 3rd pillar. The Court found for the Commission saying that it could take measures linked to member states' criminal law when the application of criminal sanctions was essential to combat serious harm to the environment. The Commission's draft directive, then, aims to replace once and for all the 2003 framework decision, and a draft directive already presented by he Commission in 2001 but not taken into account by the Council. (bc)