33 Amendments of Tudor CIUHODARU related to 2021/0422(COD)
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The Union continues to be concerned with the significant and continuous rise in environmental criminal offences and their effects, in recent years, offences which undermine the effectiveness of Union environmental legislation. These offences are moreover increasingly extending beyond the borders of the Member States in which the offences are committed. Such offences, especially those that cross borders, pose a threat to the environment and therefore call for an appropriate and effective response.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The existing systems of penalties under Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council20 and environmental sectoral law have not been sufficient in all environmental policy area to achieve compliance with Union law for the protection of the environment. Compliance should be strengthened by the availability of common criminal penalties, which demonstrate social disapproval of a qualitatively different nature compared to administrative penalties. _________________ 20 Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (OJ L 328, 6.12.2008, p. 28).
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In order to constitute an environmental offence under this Directive, conduct should be unlawful under Union law protecting the environment or national laws, administrative regulations or decisions giving effect to that Union law. The conduct which constitutes each category of criminal offence should be defined and, where appropriate, a threshold which needs to be met for the conduct to be criminalised should be set. Such conduct should be considered a criminal offence when committed intentionally and, in certain cases, also when committed with serious negligence. Illegal conduct that causes death or serious injury of persons, substantial damage to flora and fauna or a considerable risk of substantial damage for the environment or is considered otherwise as particularly harmful to the environment constitutes a criminal offence when committed with serious negligence. Member States remain free to adopt or maintain more stringent criminal law rules in that area.
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The existing systems of penalties under Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council20 and environmental sectoral law have not been sufficient in all environmental policy area to achieve compliance with Union law for the protection of the environment. Compliance should be strengthened by the availability of promptly enforceable criminal penalties, which demonstrate social disapproval of a qualitatively different nature compared to administrative penalties. _________________ 20 Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (OJ L 328, 6.12.2008, p. 28).
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The effective investigation, prosecution and adjudication of environmental criminal offences should be improved, for example by setting short deadlines in order to make such action more effective. The list of environmental criminal offences which were set out in Directive 2008/99/EC should be revised and additional categories of offences based on the most serious breaches of Union environmental law, such as acts of arson in forests or wildlife parks, should be added. Provisions on sanctions should be strengthened in order to enhance their deterrent effect as well as the enforcement chain in charge of detecting, investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating environmental criminal offences.
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The acceleration of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, paired with tangible examples of their devastating effects, have led to the recognition of the green transition as the defining objective of our time and a matter of intergenerational equity. Therefore, when Union legislation covered by this Directive evolves, this Directive should also cover any updated or amended Union legislation falling within the scope of criminal offences defined under this Directive, when the obligations under Union law remain unchanged in substance. However, when new legal instruments prohibit new conduct harmful to the environment, this Directive should be reviewed and updated as society evolves, and then amended in order to add to the categories of criminal offences also the new serious breaches of Union environmental law.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In order to constitute an environmental offence under this Directive, conduct should be unlawful under Union law protecting the environment or national laws, administrative regulations or decisions giving effect to that Union law. The conduct which constitutes each category of criminal offence should be defined and, where appropriate, a threshold which needs to be met for the conduct to be criminalised should be set. Such conduct should be considered a criminal offence when committed intentionally and, in certain cases, also when committed with serious negligence. Illegal conduct that causes death or serious injury of persons, substantial damagematerial damage to the environment, persons or administrative premises or a considerable risk of substantial damage for the environment or is considered otherwise as particularly harmful to the environment constitutes a criminal offence when committed with serious negligence. Member States remain free to adopt or maintain more stringent criminal law rules in that area.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The environment shouldmust be protected in a wide sense, as set out under Article 3 (3) TEU and Article 191 TFEU, covering all natural resources - air, water, soil, wild fauna and flora including habitats - as well as services provided by natural resources.
Amendment 169 #
(10.) The acceleration of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, paired with tangible examples of their devastating effects, have led to the recognition of the green transition as the defining objective of our time and a matter of intergenerational equity. Therefore, when Union legislation covered by this Directive evolves, this Directive should also cover any updated or amended Union legislation falling within the scope of criminal offences defined under this Directive, when the obligations under Union law remain unchanged in substance. However, when new legal instruments prohibit new conduct harmful to the environment, this Directive should be amended in order to add to the categories of criminal offences also the new serious breaches of Union environmental law., in order to take account of social developments and any legislative modifications.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Inciting, and aiding and abetting the criminal offences committed intentionally should also be punishable. An attempt to commit a criminal offence that causes death or serious injury of a person, substantial damage to the environment or is likely to cause substantial damage to the environment or is otherwise considered particularly harmful to flora and fauna in general should also constitute a criminal offence when committed intentionally.
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Sanctions for the offences should be effective, dissuasive and proportionate, and also harmonised in the case of cross- border offences. To this end, minimum levels for the maximum term of imprisonment should be set for natural persons. Accessory sanctions are often seen as being more effective than financial sanctions especially for legal persons. Additional sanctions or measures should be therefore available in criminal proceedings. These should include the obligation to reinstate the environment, exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions and withdrawal of permits and authorisations. This is without prejudice to the discretion of judges or courts in criminal proceedings to impose appropriate sanctions in the individual cases.
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In criminal proceedings and trials, due account should be taken of the involvement of organised criminal groups operating in ways that negatively impact the environment within a Member State or at cross-border and European level. Criminal proceedings should address corruption, money laundering, cyber-crime and document fraud and – in relation to business activities – the intention of the offender to maximise profits or save expenses, where these occur in the context of environmental crime. These crime forms are often interconnected with serious environmental crime forms and should therefore not be dealt with in isolation. In this respect, it is of particular concern that some environmental crimes are committed with the tolerance or active support of the competent administrations or officials performing his/her public duty. In certain cases this can even take the form of corruption. Examples of such behaviours are turning a blind eye or remaining silent on the infringement of laws protecting the environment following inspections, deliberately omitting inspections or controls for example with regard to whether the conditions of a permit are being respected by the permit-holder, resolutions or votes in favour of granting illegal licences or issuing falsified or untrue favourable reports.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Inciting, and aiding and abetting the criminal offences committed intentionally should also be punishable. An attempt to commit a criminal offence that causes death or serious injury of a person, substantial damage to the environment or is likely to cause substantial damage to the environment within a Member State or at cross-border level or is otherwise considered particularly harmful should also constitute a criminal offence when committed intentionally.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Sanctions for the offences should be effective, dissuasive and proportionate, and enforced as rapidly as possible in order to be effective. To this end, minimum levels for the maximum term of imprisonment should be set for natural persons. Accessory sanctions are often seen as being more effective than financial sanctions especially for legal persons. Additional sanctions or measures should be therefore available in criminal proceedings. These should include the obligation to reinstate the environment within a clearly specified deadline, exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions and withdrawal of permits and authorisations for a clearly specified period. This is without prejudice to the discretion of judges or courts in criminal proceedings to impose appropriate sanctions in the individual cases.
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Member States should lay down clear rules concerning limitation periods necessary in order to enable them to counter environmental criminal offences effectively, without prejudice to national rules that do not set limitation periods for investigation, prosecution and enforcement.
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Given, in particular, the mobility of perpetrators of illegal conduct covered by this Directive, together with the cross- border nature of offences and the possibility of cross-border investigations,. Member States should establish jurisdiction in order to counter such conduct effectively and cooperate with local and regional authorities in order to identify the precise location and scale of offences and act as effectively as possible.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Furthermore, judicial and administrative authorities in the Member States should have at their disposal a range of criminal sanctions and other measures to address different types of criminal behaviour in a tailored and effective manner, with an emphasis on cross-border and cross-regional crime.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Environmental criminal offences harm nature and society. By reporting breaches of Union environmental law, people perform a service of public interest and play a key role in exposing and preventing and ultimately penalising such breaches, and thus safeguarding the welfare of society. Individuals in contact with an organisation in the context of their work-related activities are often the first to know about threats or harm to the public interest and the environment. Persons who report irregularities are known as whistleblowers. Potential whistleblowers are often discouraged from reporting their concerns or suspicions for fear of retaliation. Such persons should benefit from balanced and effective whistleblowers protection set out under Directive (EU) 2019/1937of the European Parliament and of the Council25 . _________________ 25 Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305/17).
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Given, in particular, the mobility of perpetrators of illegal conduct covered by this Directive, together with the cross- border nature of offences and the possibility of cross-border investigations, Member States should establish jurisdiction in order to counter such conduct effectively, with the option to set up joint teams for monitoring and investigating these offences.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) The effective functioning of the enforcement chain depends on a range of specialist skills. As the complexity of the challenges posed by environmental offences and the technical nature of such crime require a multidisciplinary approach, a high level of legal knowledge, technical expertise as well as a high level of training and specialisation within all relevant competent authorities are necessary. Member States should provide training appropriate to the function of those who detect, investigate, prosecute or adjudicate environmental crime. To maximise the professionalism and effectiveness of enforcement chain, Member States should also consider assigning specialised investigation units, prosecutors and criminal judges to deal with environmental criminal cases. General criminal courts could provide for specialised chambers of judges. Technical expertise in a Member State should be made available to all relevant enforcement authorities for use in cross-border investigations where needed.
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) To ensure an effective, integrated and coherent enforcement system that includes administrative, civil and criminal law measures at national and cross-border level, Member States should organise internal cooperation, exchanges of good practice and communication between all actors along the administrative and criminal enforcement chains and between punitive and remedial sanctioning actors. Following the applicable rules, Member States should also cooperate through EU agencies, in particular Eurojust and Europol, as well as with EU bodies, including the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF), in their respective areas of competence.
Amendment 223 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) To effectively tackle the criminal offences referred to in this Directive, it is necessary that competent authorities in the Member States collect accurate, consistent and comparable data on the scale of and trends in environmental offences and the efforts to combat them and their results. These data should be used for regular monitoring for the purpose of producing statistics, preparing statistics to serve the operational and strategic planning of enforcement activities as well as for providing information to citizens. Member States should collect and report to the Commission relevant statistical data on environmental offences. The Commission should regularly assess and publish the results based on the data transmitted by the Member States.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the discharge, emission or introduction of a quantity of materials or substances or ionising radiation into air, soil or water which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants within a Member State or at cross-border level;
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the placing on the market of a product which, in breach of a prohibition or another requirement, causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to air, water or soil quality, or to animals or plants as a result of the product's use on a larger scale within a Member State or at cross-border level;
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c – paragraph 1
and it causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants within a Member State or at cross- border level;
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – introductory part
(e) the collection, transport, recovery or disposal of waste, within a Member State or at cross-border level, followed by the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, including action taken as a dealer or a broker (waste management), when an unlawful conduct:
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
(ii) concerns other waste than referred to in point (i) and causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants within a Member State or at cross-border level;
Amendment 247 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point i
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) the installation, operation or dismantling of an installation in which a dangerous activity is carried out or in which dangerous substances, preparations or pollutants are stored or used falling within the scope of Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council43, Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council44 or Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council45 and which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants; within a Member State or at cross-border level; _________________ 43 Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directive 96/82/EC Text with EEA relevance (OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, p. 1– 37). 44 Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17– -119). 45 Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC (OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p. 66– 106).
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j
(j) the manufacture, production, processing, handling, use, holding, storage, transport, import, export or disposal of radioactive material falling within the scope of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom46, Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom47 or Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom48, which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants within a Member State or at cross-border level; _________________ 46 Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013 laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom (OJ L 13, 17.1.2014, p. 1–-73). 47 Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom of 8 July 2014 amending Directive 2009/71/Euratom establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations (OJ L 219, 25.7.2014, p. 42–-52). 48 Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom of 22 October 2013 laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption (OJ L 296, 7.11.2013, p. 12–- 21).
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k
(k) the abstraction of surface water or groundwater which causes or is likely to cause substantial damage to the ecological status or potential of surface water bodies or to the quantitative status of groundwater bodies and especially environmental damage to surface water bodies covering several Member States;
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties within specified time limits in order to make such measures effective.
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the offence caused destruction or irreversible or long-lasting substantial damage to an ecosystem within a Member State or at cross-border level;
Amendment 413 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Where an offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 falls within the jurisdiction of more than one Member State, theose Member States shall cooperate with the other parties, and joint investigation and territorial delineation teams may also be set up, to determine which Member State shall conduct criminal proceedings. The matter shall, where appropriate and in accordance with Article 12 of Council Framework Decision 2009/948/JHA59, be referred to Eurojust. _________________ 59 Council Framework Decision 2009/948/JHA of 30 November 2009 on prevention and settlement of conflicts of exercise of jurisdiction in criminal proceedings (OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 42).