Progress: Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | JURI | FERRARA Laura ( EFDD) | COMODINI CACHIA Therese ( PPE), GUTELAND Jytte ( S&D), DZHAMBAZKI Angel ( ECR), USPASKICH Viktor ( ALDE), HAUTALA Heidi ( Verts/ALE) |
Committee Opinion | ENVI | JÁVOR Benedek ( Verts/ALE) | Jørn DOHRMANN ( ECR), Mireille D'ORNANO ( ENF), Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI ( ALDE) |
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54
Legal Basis:
RoP 54Events
The European Parliament adopted by 502 votes to 74, with 35 abstentions, a resolution on the application of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (the ‘ELD’).
While acknowledging the importance of the Commission’s studies and reports regarding the assessment of the implementation of the ELD, Members observed with concern that the findings of those reports give an alarming picture of the actual implementation of the ELD and noted that the directive has been transposed in a patchy and superficial way in many Member States.
State of play of the implementation of the ELD : several Member States failed to comply with the deadline for transposing the ELD and that only by mid-2010 had it been transposed by all 27 Member States. The transposition of the ELD into national liability systems has not resulted in a level playing field and that, as confirmed in the Commission report, it is currently totally disparate in both legal and practical terms, with great variability in the amount of cases between Member States. Seven Member States have yet to resolve a number of non-compliance issues.
Limits to the effectiveness of the ELD : according to the Parliament, the main reasons of the variable effectiveness of the ELD are as follows:
the generic nature of the ELD, which was drawn up along the lines of the framework directive model; the different interpretations and application of the ‘ significance threshold ’ for environmental damage; the fact that under the ELD, incidents are defined as ‘serious’ only if they give rise to deaths or serious injuries , with no reference to the consequences for the environment; that other activities with potential negative impacts on biodiversity and the environment, such as the pipeline transport of dangerous substances, mining, etc. are currently not covered by the requirement for strict liability; problems persist regarding the application of the directive to large-scale incidents , especially when it is not possible to identify the liable polluter and/or the polluter becomes insolvent or bankrupt. the failure to provide for the application of a standard administrative procedure for notifying competent authorities of imminent threat of, or actual, environmental damage.
Members, on the other hand, welcomed the fact that, as regards the application of the ELD in relation to protected species and natural habitats , half the Member States apply a broader scope (Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
Suggestions to improve harmonisation of the ELD : Parliament called for the ELD to be reviewed as soon as possible and the definition of ‘environmental damage’ laid down in the directive, specifically with regard to the criteria relating to determining adverse effects on protected species and habitats (Annex I), and to risks of water damage and land damage, to be revised with a view to keep pace with the rapid evolution of pollutants from industrial activities.
The Commission is called on to:
set out in detail the concept of ‘ significance threshold ’ and assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities; provide a clear and coherent interpretation of the geographical scope of ELD ‘ favourable conservation status ’ (EU territory, national territory, natural landscape area); determine what rules are necessary to establish a clear and irrefutable distinction between those cases in which the ELD is applicable and those in which the national standard should apply, where this is more stringent; introduce mandatory financial security , e.g. a mandatory environmental liability insurance for operators; consider the possibility of establishing a European fund for the protection of the environment from damage caused by industrial activity governed by the ELD, without undermining the polluter-pays principle, for insolvency risks and only in cases where financial security markets fail; make public all cases of proven liability as well as the details of penalties imposed in order to make the true cost of environmental damage transparent to all; come forward with a proposal for environmental inspections at the European level; establish a register for operators who engage in dangerous activities and a financial monitoring scheme to ensure that operators are solvent; ensure the application of the ELD to environmental damage caused by any occupational activity and to ensure strict producer liability; establish a publicly available European database of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD; step up its training programme for the application of the ELD in the Member States and to set up helpdesks; introduce tax relief or other favourable arrangements for companies which successfully endeavour to prevent environmental damage; assess the possibility of introducing collective redress mechanisms for breaches of the Union’s environmental law; review that directive’s scope so that it covers all applicable Union environmental legislation.
The Committee on Legal Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Laura FERRARA (EFDD, IT) on the application of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (the ‘ELD’).
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, exercising its prerogative as an associated committee in accordance with Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure, also gave its opinion on the report.
Members acknowledged the importance of the Commission’s studies and reports regarding the assessment of the implementation of the ELD and its impact on the Member States. They observed with concern that the findings of those reports give an alarming picture of the actual implementation of the ELD and noted that the directive has been transposed in a patchy and superficial way in many Member States.
State of play of the implementation of the ELD : several Member States failed to comply with the deadline for transposing the ELD and that only by mid-2010 had it been transposed by all 27 Member States. The transposition of the ELD into national liability systems has not resulted in a level playing field and that, as confirmed in the Commission report, it is currently totally disparate in both legal and practical terms , with great variability in the amount of cases between Member States. Seven Member States have yet to resolve a number of non-compliance issues.
Limits to the effectiveness of the ELD : the lack of uniformity is also due to the generic nature of the ELD, which was drawn up along the lines of the framework directive model.
The report pointed out that the different interpretations and application of the ‘significance threshold’ for environmental damage are one of the main barriers to an effective and uniform application of the ELD. Members deplored the fact that under the ELD, incidents are defined as ‘ serious’ only if they give rise to deaths or serious injuries , with no reference to the consequences for the environment. In addition, they regretted that other activities with potential negative impacts on biodiversity and the environment, such as the pipeline transport of dangerous substances, mining, etc. are currently not covered by the requirement for strict liability.
The scope of the framework of environmental liability should be broadened to include damage to the air, fauna and flora and the landscape.
The report stressed that problems persist regarding the application of the directive to large-scale incidents , especially when it is not possible to identify the liable polluter and/or the polluter becomes insolvent or bankrupt.
Members, on the other hand, welcomed the fact that, as regards the application of the ELD in relation to protected species and natural habitats , half the Member States apply a broader scope (Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
Suggestions to improve harmonisation of the ELD : Members called for the ELD to be reviewed as soon as possible and the definition of ‘environmental damage’ laid down in the directive, specifically with regard to the criteria relating to determining adverse effects on protected species and habitats (Annex I), and to risks of water damage and land damage, to be revised with a view to keep pace with the rapid evolution of pollutants from industrial activities.
The Commission is called on to:
set out in detail the concept of ‘significance threshold’ in order to standardise the application of the ELD, making it uniform in all Member States; provide a clear and coherent interpretation of the geographical scope of ELD ‘ favourable conservation status’ (EU territory, national territory, natural landscape area); introduce mandatory financial security , e.g. a mandatory environmental liability insurance for operators and to develop a harmonised EU methodology for calculating the maximum liability thresholds, taking account of the characteristics of each activity and its surrounding area; consider the possibility of establishing a European fund for the protection of the environment from damage caused by industrial activity governed by the ELD, without undermining the polluter-pays principle, for insolvency risks and only in cases where financial security markets fail; come forward with a proposal for environmental inspections at the European level; establish a register for operators who engage in dangerous activities and a financial monitoring scheme to ensure that operators are solvent; ensure the application of the ELD to environmental damage caused by any occupational activity and to ensure strict producer liability ; establish a publicly available European database of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD; step up its training programme for the application of the ELD in the Member States and to set up helpdesks; assess the possibility of introducing collective redress mechanisms for breaches of the Union’s environmental law; review that directive’s scope so that it covers all applicable Union environmental legislation.
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2018)7
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T8-0414/2017
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A8-0297/2017
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE606.200
- Committee opinion: PE599.800
- Committee draft report: PE599.856
- Committee draft report: PE599.856
- Committee opinion: PE599.800
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE606.200
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2018)7
Activities
- Nicola CAPUTO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Nikolaos CHOUNTIS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jane COLLINS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Mireille D'ORNANO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Julie GIRLING
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Benedek JÁVOR
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jiří MAŠTÁLKA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Notis MARIAS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Krisztina MORVAI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Pavel SVOBODA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Eleftherios SYNADINOS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Ivica TOLIĆ
Plenary Speeches (1)
Votes
A8-0297/2017 - Laura Ferrara - Vote unique 26/10/2017 12:17:11.000 #
Amendments | Dossier |
131 |
2016/2251(INI)
2017/04/26
ENVI
58 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Notes with concern that the transposition of the Environmental Liability Directive into national liability systems has not resulted in a level playing field and that the minimum standards set by the ELD are interpreted differently across the EU leading to implementation deficiencies;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes that activities w
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes that there are activities which have the potential to cause significant damage to biodiversity and the environment and which are currently not covered by the requirement of strict liability;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes that not all activities which have the potential to cause significant damage to biodiversity and the environment are currently
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Notes that the European Commission has concluded that there are broad differences among the Member States in the application of the Directive and that it has not succeeded in creating a level playing field across the EU;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Points out that traditional civil law liability arrangements barely lend themselves to environmental liability, given the nature of what is at stake;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Recalls that a lack of obligation for operators to have financial security regarding environmental liability may prevent the full compensation of costs in the event of a serious incident;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Calls for any operator benefitting from the carrying out of activities to be also liable for any environmental damage or pollution caused by those activities;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2 b. Notes that in Article 1, the framework of environmental liability should be broadened to include environmental rehabilitation and ecological restoration to the baseline condition after occupational activities have ended, even when environmental damage is caused by activities or emissions expressly authorised by the competent authorities;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Notes that due to the discretionary powers awarded in the ELD, its implementation in Member States has not been coordinated and has lacked harmonization and effectiveness;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 f (new) 2 f. Recalls that the definitions of environmental damage in Article 1 (a), (b) and (c) have proven to be unclear; calls for their redefining to cover all damages to the environment;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 e (new) 2 e. Calls on the Commission, in the context of the revision of the ELD, to include 'ecosystems' and 'recreational uses and amenities of the environment' in the definitions of 'environmental damage' and 'natural resource' of Article 2;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 c (new) 2 c. Calls on the Commission, through the revision of Article 3, to ensure the application of the Directive to environmental damage caused by any occupational activity and to ensure strict producer liability;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. In the context of a review of the ELD, considers it paramount to extend strict liability to non-Annex III activities for all environmental damage with significant adverse effects in order to render the legislation more effective;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. In the context of a review of the ELD, considers it
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. In the context of a review of the ELD, considers it paramount to extend strict liability to non-Annex III activities for all environmental damage in order to render the legislation more effective; points out that court rulings have to be consistent, as it might otherwise seem that that jurisdictions were setting precedents clashing from one case to the next;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. In the context of a review of the ELD, considers it paramount to extend strict liability to non-Annex III activities for all environmental damage in order to render the legislation more effective as it could provide an incentive for operators to properly manage the risk of their activities and it would promote the polluter-pays principle;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. In the context of a review of the ELD, considers it paramount to think about extending strict liability
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Notes that a few Member States appear to make use of the ELD relatively frequently for environmental damage incidents, while others appear to apply national legislation for environmental damage incidents instead of the ELD;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Notes that the number of cases falling in the scope of ELD varies considerably between the Member States;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. In the context of a review of the ELD, calls on the Commission to also impose liability for damage
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. In the context of a review of the ELD, calls on the Commission to extend the scope of the Directive and to also impose liability for damage caused to human health and the environment; considers that doing so would bring the ELD into line with other EU legislation based on the protection of human health and the environment;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. In the context of a review of the ELD, calls on the Commission to
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Calls on the Commission to include in the next review of the ELD damage to human health and the environment caused by air pollution emitted by cars violating the EU car emissions legislation, as this could increase the level of prevention and precaution;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls furthermore for
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls furthermore for the removal of the options for granting permit defence and state-of-the art defences in order to create a level playing field and promote the polluter pays principle as well as improve the effectiveness of the legislation;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph -1 a (new) -1 a. Welcomes the development of the Multi-Annual ELD Work Programme (MAWP) for the period 2017 - 2020;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recommends that the option of requiring subsidiary state liability
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recommends that the option of requiring subsidiary state liability is made mandatory in order to ensure effective and proactive implementation of the legislation; considers that when an operator who has caused damage cannot meet the claims for compensation, it should be permissible to fall back on the State, but that this must not, under any circumstances, burden taxpayers with extra taxes or charges;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Is of the view that considering the relevance and potential impacts of industry related disasters, the risks posed to human health, natural environment and property, further safeguards need to be added to grant European citizens a safe and sound disaster prevention and management system based on risk- sharing, the stepped-up responsibility of industrial operators and the polluter pays principle;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. In the context of a review of the ELD, calls on the Commission to consider whether it might impose an obligation on Member States to submit reports every two years on the application of the directive;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities and to come forward with proposals to supplement this with an EU-wide fund designed to address remediation costs beyond the mandatory financial security, establishing a financial coordination with the IOPC Fund ("International Oil Pollution Compensation" Fund);
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of working towards differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities and to come forward with proposals to supplement this
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) to be revised as soon as possible; maintains that the remediation of environmental damage will very likely be one of the main issues for liability law in the 21st century;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. In the context of a review of the ELD, restates its preference for mandatory financial security for operators; calls on the Commission to assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities and to come forward with proposals to supplement this with an EU-wide fund or an insurance-based risk sharing facility designed to address remediation costs beyond the mandatory financial security;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 a (new) 7 a. Draws attention to the European Commission feasibility study on the concept of an EU-wide industrial disaster risk sharing facility1a and emphasizes the necessity of performing further analysis and a deeper feasibility study on the key legal and financial issues; _________________ 1a Study to explore the feasibility of creating a fund to cover environmental liability and losses occurring from industrial accidents, Final Report, European Commission, DG ENV, 17 April 2013.
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 a (new) 7 a. Calls on the Commission to establish a compulsory environmental liability insurance policy to cover all operators in the EU, and to obligate each Member State to take all measures necessary to ensure environmental liability of all operators in its territory;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 b (new) 7 b. Encourages Member States to take measures to accelerate the development of financial security instruments and markets by the appropriate economic and financial operators, including financial mechanisms in case of insolvency, with the aim of enabling operators to use financial guarantees to cover their responsibilities;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the ELD adequately supports efforts to attain the objectives of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives; insists that the authorities responsible for environmental inspections are involved in the implementation and enforcement of environmental liability law; believes that the Commission should also take into account the administrative burden entailed for Member States, even though the environment is an area in which they share competence with the EU.
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Considers criminal sanctions another important deterrent against environmental damage and notes with regret that the Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law is not up to date; calls for the Commission to review its scope to cover all applicable Union environmental legislation without further delay;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 b (new) 8 b. Stresses the urgency of establishing European legislation on minimum standards for implementing the Aarhus Convention access to justice pillar;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 c (new) 8 c. Reinstates its call on the Commission to come forward with a proposal for environmental inspections at the European level without further delay.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Notes that whereas civil law is one of the oldest branches of law, the ELD represents a new legislative concept and, that being the case, only its implementation can serve to reveal the extent of its implications, this being necessary in order to assess the ELD in terms of its appropriateness and proportionality;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Welcomes the Commission's efforts to assess and bridge gaps in the implementation of the ELD across Member States;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. In the context of a review of the ELD, calls for greater clarity of the definition of environmental damage, specifically with regard to the criteria to determine significant adverse effects on protected species and habitats in Annex I, and with regard to significant risk for damage to land and water in Article 2(1) of the ELD;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. Recalls the experiences in the implementation of the current financial securities which have demonstrated challenges in ensuring the liability of operators for environmental damage and is concerned about the examples where operators have not been in a position to bear the costs of environmental remediation;
source: 604.509
2017/06/23
JURI
73 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the EU seeks to ensure its citizens have a high level of health protection and improvement of environmental quality, as well as promoting the prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources, accompanied by measures at international level to address global or regional environmental problems;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas new scientific findings show that pollution from industrial activities can affect the environment as well as human
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. whereas many Member States have made progress towards effectively achieving the main objectives of preventing and remedying environmental damage, however, in a few Member States the enforcement of the ELD remains insufficient;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges the importance of
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Observes with concern that the findings of those reports give an alarming picture of the actual implementation of the ELD and notes that the directive has been transposed in a patchy and uninterested way in many Member States;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Welcomes the Commission’s recommendations set out in its report to the Council and European Parliament under Article 18(2) of Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage, in particular the priority given by it to promoting the harmonisation of national solutions and practices within the framework of the Directive and establishing how it can be implemented effectively and coherently in a wider legal liability framework;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Considers that
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Considers that, according to the Commission report, the transposition of the ELD is currently totally disparate in both legal and practical terms and that
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses that the ability of the ELD in achieving a high level of environmental protection and in preventing and remedying environmental damage in the EU is hampered by significant lack of clarity and uniform application of key concepts, and underdeveloped capacities and expertise;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the abnormal inconsistency in the reporting by Member States of cases of environmental damage
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas Article 11 TFEU stipulates that environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union’s policies and activities, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Points out that the different interpretations and application of the ‘significance threshold’ for environmental damage are one of the main barriers to an effective and uniform application of the ELD, while precise data on administrative costs for public authorities, including data on the application of complementary and compensatory remediation, are limited, quite divergent, and for business not available at all;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Deplores the fact that under ELD, incidents are defined as “serious” only if they give rise to deaths or serious injuries, with no reference to the consequences for the environment; highlights therefore that even if it does not give rise to deaths or serious injuries, an incident may have a serious impact on the environment, by virtue of its scale or because it affects, for example, protected areas, protected species or particularly vulnerable habitats;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Notes that the cost of environmental damage for the operators responsible can be reduced through the use of financial security instruments
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Notes that the cost of environmental damage for the operators responsible can be reduced through the use of financial security instruments
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Notes that the cost of environmental damage for the operators responsible can be reduced through the use of financial security instruments, but also that demand
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Believes that within the ELD financial security market, demand is still low due to the insufficient number of cases detected in many Member States, the lack of clarity regarding certain concepts set out in the directive, and the fact that, in many Member States, insurance models are generally proving slow to emerge;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Stresses that problems persist
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Welcomes the fact that, as regards the application of the ELD in relation to protected species and natural habitats, half the Member States apply a broader scope (Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom);
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Reiterates that there is a lack of data available on ELD cases and comparable incidents treated under national legislation; notes that the ELD provides an obligation for notifying the competent authority of imminent threat of, or actual environmental damage; regrets however that there is no obligation to publish such notifications or information about how the cases were dealt with; Notes that some Member States have identified this limitation in their national legislation and thus set up databases about the notifications/incidents/cases. However, the practice varies broadly from Member State to Member State and is rather limited;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Emphasises that compensatory regimes must be able to address transboundary claims effectively, rapidly, within a reasonable timeframe and without discrimination between claimants from different European Economic Area countries; recommends that they should cover both primary and secondary damage caused in all the affected areas, given that such incidents affect wider areas and may have a long-term impact; stresses the need especially for neighbouring countries, which are not members of the European Economic Area, to respect international law regarding the environmental protection and liability;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas a coordinated environmental strategy across the Union is a way of encouraging cooperation and ensuring that EU policies are consistent with each other;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 b (new) 15b. Points out that there is still lack of awareness and information about the ELD, insufficient resources and expertise to implement the Directive and uncertainties concerning definitions such as ‘significant’ threshold and under-use of complementary and compensatory remediation. Calls on the Commission to support Member States in the development of tools to support a better implementation of the ELD regime, such as guidance documents for operators, competent authorities, civil society organisations and insurers;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 c (new) 15c. Reiterates that according to the ELD, persons adversely affected by environmental damage should be entitled to ask the competent authorities to take action; believes in this regard that a compensatory collective redress mechanism should be available to any individual or organisation that has suffered due to environmental damage or impairment of right within the scope of the ELD.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 d (new) 15d. Taking into account that the European law stipulates that European citizens should be guaranteed effective and timely access to justice (Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Regulation, Article 6 TEU and relevant provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights) and that the costs of the environmental harm should be borne by the polluter (Article 191 TFEU), calls on the Commission to come up with a legislative proposal on compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States based on breaches of provisions of Union environmental law;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Calls for the ELD to be reviewed as soon as possible and the definition of ‘environmental damage’ laid down in Article 2 of the directive to be revised and to broaden the definition in order to extend the scope of application to damages caused to human health and the environment caused by air pollution generated by the car industry; reminds that if car manufacturers would be held financial liable for remedying the environmental damage they cause, it would increase the level of prevention and precaution;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Calls for the ELD to be reviewed as soon as possible and the definition of ‘environmental damage’ laid down in Article 2 of the directive to be revised with a view to making it sufficiently effective, consistent and coherent to keep pace with the rapid evolution of pollutants from industrial activities;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. In the context of a review reinstates its preference for mandatory financial security, e.g. a mandatory environmental liability insurance for operators;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Calls for the Commission to clarify and specify the concept of ‘significance threshold’, in order to standardise the application of the ELD, making it uniform in all Member States; and in particular to assess differentiated maximum liability thresholds for activities;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Calls for the Commission to clarify
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17a. Calls on the Commission to provide a clear and coherent interpretation of the geographical scope of ELD ‘favourable conservation status’ (EU territory, national territory, natural landscape area); in this respect, a site- specific approach is necessary to ensure correct and effective implementation;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17a. Calls on the Commission to determine what rules are necessary in order to establish a clear and irrefutable distinction between those cases in which the ELD is applicable and those in which the national standard should apply, where this is more stringent;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) Ab. whereas Article 191(1) TFEU states that Union policy on the environment shall contribute to pursuit of objectives, such as protecting and improving the quality of the environment, protecting human health, ensuring prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources, promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18.
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Calls on the Commission to check whether it is possible to extend the scope of the ELD and impose liability for damage to human health and the environment, including also to damage to the air15, which can have significant health risks, and to check whether it is possible as regards damage caused by electromagnetic
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Reiterates that article 4.5 of the ELD stipulates that Directive shall only apply to environmental damage or to an imminent threat of such damage caused by pollution of a diffuse character, where it is possible to establish a causal link between the damage and the activities of individual operators; Reiterates that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) already in its 2013 Report established a rigorous causal relationship between gas emissions and damage related to climate change and the environment.1b __________________ 1bIPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F. et al. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 b (new) 18b. Takes seriously the research published by Environmental Research Letters, which estimates that 1,200 people in Europe will die early, each losing as much as a decade of their life, as a result of excess emissions generated between 2008 and 2015 by affected cars sold in Germany1a; Calls on the Commission, to include, in the next review of the ELD, damage to human health and the environment caused by air pollution emitted by cars violating the EU car emissions legislation; __________________ 1aChossière, Guillaume P et al. Public health impacts of excess NOx emissions from Volkswagen diesel passenger vehicles in Germany. 3 March 2017. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 12, Number 3
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls for the establishment of a European fund for the protection of the environment from damage caused by industrial activity governed by the ELD17
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas Article 191(2) TFEU stipulates that Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection and
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Calls on the Commission to encourage the Member States to develop financial collateral instruments for compensating traditional damage claims for environmental incidents, including in cases of insolvency;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Calls for
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Calls for the adoption of a regime for the secondary liability of successors of liable parties and for the option of requiring subsidiary state liability to be made mandatory in order to ensure effective and proactive implementation of the legislation;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21a. Calls furthermore for the removal of the options for granting permit defence and state-of-the art defences in order to create a level playing field and promote the polluter pays principle as well as improve the effectiveness of the legislation;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 b (new) 21b. Stresses the urgency of establishing European legislation on minimum standards for implementing the Aarhus Convention’s access to justice pillar;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 c (new) 21c. Calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal for environmental inspections at the European level without further delay;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the Commission to establish a mandatory register for operators who engage in the dangerous activities listed in Annex III
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the Commission to establish a
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the Commission to establish a mandatory register for operators who engage in the dangerous activities
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas Article 191(2) TFEU stipulates that Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection and is based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, together with the precautionary principle, the principle that preventive action should be taken and the principle that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the Commission to establish a
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Calls for the establishment of a European register of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD; For the purpose of not causing unnecessary administrative burdens on public authorities and operators and keeping in line with the purpose and provisions as set forth by this Directive, a structured dialogue is required; A register should also be consistent with the latest mandatory disclosures for environmental risks imposed by the Non- Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95/EU adopted in 2014 and applicable from January 2018 for the financial year 2017;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Calls for the establishment of a European register of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD; Calls on the Commission and all the Member States to develop public available databases for reporting on ELD cases in order to create better trust in the ELD system and better implementation; Publication of public databases would enable stakeholders, operators and the public to become more aware of the existence of the ELD regime and its enforcement and thus contribute to better prevention and remediation of environmental damages;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Calls for the establishment of a European register of cases of environmental damage governed by the ELD modelled on, for example, the Irish reporting system whereby cases of environmental damage can be notified online;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23a. In order to be effectively accessible, public databases of ELD cases could be established according to the following criteria: – they should be available online. Furthermore information should be granted also upon request; – the database should be central for every country, not separate register for every region; – notifications about new incidents should be immediately published online; – the database should include information about the name of polluter, nature and extent of the caused damage, prevention/remediation action measures taken, proceedings carried out by/and or with authorities;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Calls
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Stresses the importance of a culture of environmental damage prevention,
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 a (new) 25a. Considers that all cases of proven liability, as well as the details of penalties applied, should be made public in order to make the true cost of environmental damage transparent to all;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 a (new) 25a. Proposes that a channel be set up to encourage environmentalist NGOs and other stakeholder bodies to put forward their comments and criticisms;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas in order to cover liability for environmental damage, a financial security market has grown up spontaneously, but whereas this might, however, be insufficient to cover specific cases, for instance for SMEs or involving particular types of operations (offshore platforms, nuclear facilities, etc.);
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26.
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Calls on the Commission to step up its training programme for the application of the ELD
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Calls on the Commission to step up its training programme for the application of the ELD for the Member States and recommends that guidance documents be adopted to help Member States transpose the legislation correctly;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E b (new) Eb. whereas the uneven implementation of the ELD is due primarily to, for example, difficulties of appreciation when the damage to a natural resource exceeds the set threshold and the fact that many Member States have no means of eliciting comments and criticism from environmentalist NGOs and other stakeholder bodies;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E c (new) Ec. whereas in many Member States large numbers of stakeholders (environmentalist NGOs, insurance companies, operators, and, above all, the authorities concerned) know little – or in some cases nothing – about the details of the ELD, a situation due not least to the fact that there are no guidance documents to help in transposing the legislation;
source: 606.200
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