NGOs call on EU to combat environmental crime

In December 2021, the European Commission proposed an ambitious revision of the EU Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. The Council and European Parliament have then adopted their own positions on the Commission’s proposal and the three EU institutions have now started the trilogue negotiations to find an agreement on the final text of the revised Directive.

The Commission’s proposal aims to address the shortcomings of the current Directive— which determined its poor implementation in Member States— by including, among other provisions, an updated and more comprehensive list of environmental crime offences, harmonised sanction types and levels and measures to strengthen international investigation and prosecution. Following the adoption in the past months of the Council and the Parliament positions, the three EU institutions have now started negotiations to agree on the final text of the Directive.

IFAW has worked with other environmental, conservation and animal protection organisations to draft our key recommendations for the upcoming negotiations. We believe it is high time for the EU to combat environmental crime, the third largest crime worldwide and one for which the European Union acts as a major hub.

Our main call to negotiators is the need for a general Definition of what constitutes an environmental crime. This would enable criminal liability in all serious cases of environmental offences and avoid the need to amend the Directive every time that new categories of unlawful conduct—not yet covered by the scope of this Directive—are identified. In addition, the definitions and language within the Directive must be sufficiently precise to make its provisions enforceable and to create a level-playing field that harmonizes the fight against environmental crimes across the EU.

We also call for the inclusion of underwater noise in the list of pollutants that cause substantial damage to marine environment and marine life, as already acknowledged by other existing EU legislation.

With regard to enforcement, IFAW strongly supports the maximum term of imprisonment and sanctions for people and entities that perpetrate environmental crimes proposed by the Commission. Sanctions will be considered truly dissuasive to criminals only when they represent such a high level of risk across all Member States.

We urge the European Parliament and Member States negotiators to consider these joint recommendations during the upcoming trilogues and to deliver the utmost strength in legislation to tackle the scourge of environmental crime in the EU.