‘Environmental criminals’ face jail

Europeans damaging the environment could face up to ten years in prison or a fine of more than €1.5 million, under legislation set to be proposed by the European Commission tomorrow (9 February).

The proposed directive sets penalties for environmental crimes across the EU and would prevent polluters taking advantage of widely differing sanctions across the 27 member states.

"We need to have a very clear and enforceable framework, with no safe havens for environmental criminals," explained a spokesman for the Commission’s justice department.

The proposal says that "the imposition of criminal sanctions demonstrates a social disapproval of a qualitatively different nature compared to administrative sanctions or a compensation mechanism under civil law".

But the Commission faces an uphill struggle to win support from governments, which remain protective of their own judicial powers.

A framework decision agreed by governments in 2003 said that member states should set "effective, proportional and dissuasive" criminal penalties for environmental crimes. It did not set out what the penalties should be or what crimes were covered.

It also left the Commission unable to take legal action against countries choosing not to implement the decision. The European Court of Justice in September 2005 ruled that this was illegal, saying the Commission and Parliament had to be involved in setting the penalties and enforcing the law.

The proposal gives nine instances of breaches of European environmental laws in which penalties will have to be imposed across the EU. These include the pollution of air, soil and water, the unauthorised manufacture or importation of nuclear materials and the illegal possession of or trade in protected species.

Member states would be free to punish, within their territory, other infractions not mentioned in the nine-point list.

They could also impose alternative criminal sanctions, rather than the "maximum" of a fine or jail sentence suggested by the Commission.

Individuals found guilty of environmental crimes would risk a series of penalties, ranging from at least two years in prison when pollution is caused by "serious negligence", to at least five to ten years when "intentional" pollution kills or seriously injures someone.

"Legal persons", including companies and businesses, would face minimum fines ranging from €300,000 to €1.5 million, depending on the seriousness of the crime.

The 2005 court ruling was hailed as a victory for environmentalists, following criticism of slow national action against those responsible for disasters, including massive crude oil spills from the Erika and Prestige tankers.

A spokeswoman for Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the commissioner believed environmental crime was as worrying as drug trafficking.

"The problem of environmental crime is enormous," the spokeswoman explained. "Toxic materials are found in 50% of random tests on shipments claiming to be non-toxic…we need to put minimum penalties into criminal law," she added.

"The Commission cannot directly influence the handing out of fines, but it can make it clear that member states have to pursue those responsible for oil spills, or dumping toxic waste in EU waters."

Europeans damaging the environment could face up to ten years in prison or a fine of more than €1.5 million, under legislation set to be proposed by the European Commission tomorrow (9 February).