Press Release: Commission strengthens environmental protection through criminal law, abolishing “safe havens” of environmental crime

The European Commission has proposed a directive that obliges Member States to treat serious offences against the environment as criminal acts and to ensure that they are effectively sanctioned. It also sets minimum sanctions for environmental crimes across the Member States. Offences such as the illegal emission of hazardous substances into the air, water or soil, the illegal shipment of waste, or the illegal trade in endangered species can have devastating effects on human health and the environment. They also undermine the efficiency of EU environment legislation. It is therefore crucial to ensure that they are effectively sanctioned throughout the European Union. In serious cases criminal sanctions such as prison sentences should be applied, as they have a much higher dissuasive effect than, for example, administrative sanctions.

European Commission: DG Communication: MEMO/07/50 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/50&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr

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