45 Amendments of Maria ARENA related to 2021/0422(COD)
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The Union continues to be concerned with the rise in environmental criminal offences and their effects, 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 pose a threat to the environment and therefore call for an appropriate and effective response. A better cross-border cooperation between competent authorities should be established in order to fight environmental crime.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Despite the growing number of environmental crimes, a harmonised and accepted definition of environmental crimes does not yet exist at European and national level. This Directive aims to provide a general framework by defining autonomous environmental crime, in addition to the EU-wide common set of definitions of specific environmental offences1a. _________________ 1a See Rome, IAI e AMBITUS, May 2022, p. 19.
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) In order to cover all forms of environmental crimes, and in line with existing legislation in different national criminal law systems, Member States should criminalise autonomous categories of environmental offences by creating an offence of endangering the environment when a conduct directly or indirectly exposes the environment to an immediate risk of substantial damage or when, knowingly, a conduct causes a substantial damage to the environment. Criminal law has its own characteristics which make it more dissuasive than administrative law, especially in terms of applicable sanctions.
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The environment should be protected in a wide sense, as set out under Article 3 (3) TEU and Article 191 TFEU, covering all environmental compartments and all natural resources - air, water, soil, wild fauna and flora including habitats - as well asfunctions and services provided by natural resourcall ecosystems, as well as respect for planetary boundaries.
Amendment 158 #
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 amended in order to add to the categories of criminal offences also the new serious breaches of Union environmental law. In order to quickly incorporate new criminal offences, any amendment of this Directive should only concern Article 3, and not include a complete amendment of the Directive.
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The acceleration of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, as well as the exceedance of six out of the nine planetary boundaries, 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.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11a) The "One Health" approach recognises the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment and is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely interlinked and inter-dependent.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12a) Forests are an essential ally in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. They function as carbon sinks, and help to reduce the impacts of climate change, for example by cooling down cities, protecting them from heavy flooding, and reducing drought impact. Especially with regards to offences that create a spiral of severe environmental damages falling within the scope of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, presenting irreversible danger to the balance of whole ecosystems, such as illegal logging, committing forest fires and destruction of wildlife habitats or other offences against forests, should be taken into account as possible aggravating circumstances.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13 a (new)
Recital 13 a (new)
(13a) Ecocide refers to the process of environmental or ecological destruction and means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts. It can be linked to unlawful economic activity, unsocial behaviour, disrespect of human rights, war crimes, excessive pollution, destruction of biodiversity or wilful and severe actions aggravating climate change beyond the enshrined limits according to the Paris agreement.
Amendment 196 #
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. Member States should thus extend their jurisdiction where an offence creates a risk for the environment on its territory or where it is committed against its residents. Considering the limits of the territoriality principle in applying criminal law to environmental crimes of a transboundary nature and the significant number of cases where EU actors are involved in environmental crimes taking place outside of Europe, Member States should introduce so-called universal jurisdiction for serious environmental crimes, in particular when it comes to ecocide.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Environmental criminal offences harm nature and society. By reporting breaches of Union environmental law, peopleindividuals or organisations from the civil society perform a service of public interest and play a key role in exposing and preventing 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 218 #
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, Member States should organise internal cooperation 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. The mandate of EPPO should be extended to also cover serious environmental crimes with a cross-border dimension. In order to fulfil this new and broader task, EPPO needs adequate resources and funding.
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) ‘planetary boundaries’, means the nine planetary life-support systems identified as part of the planetary boundaries framework: climate change, biosphere integrity (covering functional and genetic diversity), land system changes, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus), ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion and novel entities1a. _________________ 1a https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/is -europe-living-within-the-planets-limits
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) "severe" means damage which involves very serious adverse changes, disruption or harm to any element of the environment, including grave impacts on human life or natural, cultural or economic resources;
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) ‘environment’ means everything living including humans, animals and plants, and everything non-living including the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the litosphere;
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) "wanton" means with reckless disregard for damage which would be clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated;
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
(5b) ‘polluter pays principle’ means that polluters should bear the costs of their pollution or environmental damage, including the cost of measures taken to prevent, control and remedy pollution, as well as the costs the polluters impose on society;
Amendment 263 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 c (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 c (new)
(5c) "long-term" means damage which is irreversible or which cannot be redressed through natural recovery within a reasonable period of time;
Amendment 266 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 c (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 c (new)
(5c) ‘ecocide’ means unlawful or wanton acts committed with the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood that those acts cause a severe and either wide-spread or long-term damage to the environment.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 d (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 d (new)
(5d) ‘One Health Approach’ means an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment including ecosystems are closely interlinked and inter-dependent;
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph -1 (new)
Article 3 – paragraph -1 (new)
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph -1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Member States shall ensure that conduct which knowingly causes substantial damage to the environment constitutes a criminal offence.
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) committing serious infringements of the EU Fisheries Control System, as defined in Article 90 of Council Regulation (EC) 1224/2009;
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point o
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point o
(o) any conduct which causes the deterioration of a habitat within a protected site, within the meaning of Article 6(2) of the Directive 92/43/EEC, when this deterioration is significant;
Amendment 359 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
(ra) ecocide as severe disrespect of the European Climate Law, the biodiversity and the pollution legislation;
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
(rb) the significant harm of the environment in case of public or private investments when severely disrespecting the "do no significant harm" principle within the meaning of Article 17 of the Taxonomy regulation;
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r c (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r c (new)
(rc) the environmental damage to forests, including through committing forest fires intentionally or due to a lack of due diligence and the disrespect of the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels in Article 29 of (RED III - recast);
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r d (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r d (new)
(rd) the violation of standards as set in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (COD2022/0051);
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r e (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point r e (new)
(re) the damage of the environment as defined in Directive 2004/35/CE on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage;
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 4 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 4 – point c a (new)
(ca) the potential consequences on human health and human rights;
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – point d a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – point d a (new)
(da) the polluter pays principle.
Amendment 410 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. 6. For the offences mentioned in this Article and in line with Article 25(3), Member states shall continuously ensure that new and updated legislation at EU, national and regional level regarding these offences is duly taken into account.
Amendment 494 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that offences referred to in Article 3(1) points (a) to (j), (n), (q), (r) are punishable by fines, the maximum limit of which shall be in line with competition law rules, i.e. not less than 510% of the total worldwide turnover of the legal person [/undertaking] in the business year preceding the fining decision.
Amendment 501 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5
Article 7 – paragraph 5
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. The maximum limit of fines shall be extended to 15% in cases of offences with aggravating circumstances as referred to in Article 8, and in the case of ecocide.
Amendment 585 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) the offence is committed for the benefit of a legal person established on its territory;
Amendment 589 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. A Member State shall inform the Commission where it decidtake the necessary measures to extend its jurisdiction to offences referred to in Articles 3, 3a and 4 which have been committed outside its territory, where:
Amendment 594 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) the offence has created a severe risk for the environment or for the biodiversity on its territory.
Amendment 595 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States shall introduce universal jurisdiction of their courts for the prosecution and judgment of an offence referred to in Article 3a, in order to avoid the externalisation of environmental damage, where it was not committed on its territory, was committed by a foreign person, against a foreign victim, and without that State being the victim of the offence.
Amendment 598 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that protection granted under Directive (EU) 2019/1937, is applicable to both individual and legal persons reporting criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of this Directive.
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 19(a) Extension of EPPO mandate The mandate of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) shall be extended to cover serious environmental crimes with a cross-border dimension. EPPO shall support Member States, but also intervene in cases where the actions of Member States regarding environmental crimes are not sufficient.
Amendment 649 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 21 – paragraph 3
Article 21 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the statistical data as well as a consolidated review of their statistics isare regularly published.
Amendment 666 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 25 – paragraph 3
Article 25 – paragraph 3
3. By [OP – please insert the date - five years after the transposition period is over], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the impact of this Directive and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council. Member States shall provide the Commission with necessary information for the preparation of that report. The Commission shall ensure that a regular update of criminal offences as outlined in Article 3 is secured.
Amendment 668 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 25 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 25 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. By [OP – please insert the date - two years after the transposition period is over], the Commission shall present a report on how environmental crime contributes to the exceedance of planetary boundaries as well as how the scope of this Directive could be expanded to cover actions/offences which result in the exceedance of planetary boundaries.