| Author (Corporate) | European Commission: DG Justice and Consumers |
|---|---|
| Series Details | COM (2021) 851 |
| Publication Date | 15/12/2021 |
| Content Type | Blog & Commentary, News, Policy-making |
Summary:Legislative initiative adopted by the European Commission on 15 December 2021, seeking to revise the rules aimed at cracking down on environmental crime. Further information:Directive 2008/99/EC - also known as the Environmental Crime Directive - provides common minimum rules to criminalise environmental crime. The European Commission carried out an assessment in 2019-2020 on this framework and published its findings in October 2020. It found that the Directive did not have much effect on the ground over the years. The evaluation found considerable enforcement gaps in all Member States of the European Union (EU) and at all levels of the enforcement chain. It also identified deficiencies in the Member States in terms of resources, specialised knowledge, awareness, prioritisation, cooperation and information sharing, and found there were no overarching national strategies to combat environmental crime involving all levels of the enforcement chain and a multi-disciplinary approach. Moreover, the lack of coordination between administrative and criminal law enforcement and sanctioning often hindered effectiveness. Finally, it was noted that the lack of reliable, accurate and complete statistical data on environmental crime proceedings in the Member States not only hampered the Commission’s evaluation but also prevents national policy-makers and practitioners from monitoring the effectiveness of their measures. This draft law seeks to revise the existing legislative initiative, and comprises six main objectives;
The proposed Directive was tabled by the European Commission on 15 December 2021, alongside a Communication explaining its policy objectives. The Council of the European Union adopted its general approach on 9 December 2022. The plenary of the European Parliament endorsed a negotiating position on 17 April 2023. An informal agreement between the co-legislators on a compromise text for this file was reached on 16 November. |
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| Source Link | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2021:851:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Environment, Justice and Home Affairs, Law |
| Subject Tags | Criminal Law, Organised Crime |
| International Organisations | European Union [EU] |
