• Home
  • Topics
    • Industry and air
    • Waste and TFS
    • Water and land
    • Nature protection
    • Cross-cutting tools and approaches
  • Tools
    • Permitting
    • Inspections
    • Doing the right things
    • Better regulation
    • IMPEL Review Initiative
    • PREVENT
  • Projects
    • IMPEL projects
    • IMPEL-ESIX
    • LIFE SWEAP
    • WasteForce
    • SPIDER WEB
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Press releases
  • Publications
    • Outreach material
    • IMPEL Documents
    • General Assembly Meetings
    • Conference reports
    • EU Documents
  • Events
    • Internal meetings
      • General assembly
      • Board meetings
      • Expert team meetings
    • Project meetings
    • Conferences
  • About IMPEL
    • Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Board
      • Secretariat
    • Members and observers
    • Becoming a member
    • Contact
  • 
  • 
  • 

IMPEL

European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law

You are here: Home / Latest news / Compliance with the EU Environmental Crime Directive

Compliance with the EU Environmental Crime Directive

July 30, 2015

Environmental enforcement capacity remains a major issue throughout the countries of Southeast Europe and Moldova, due largely to weaknesses in monitoring, resource limitations, and the lack of progress in implementing the EU environmental standards that the Environmental Crime Directive seeks to strengthen.

This is one of the key conclusions from a report on compliance with the EU Environmental Crime Directive in the Countries of Southeast Europe and Moldova released today by the Themis Network.

The report details the harmonization of national criminal law with the Environmental Crime Directive in the states of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia in their capacity as EU candidates, potential candidates and associated countries.

(*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.)

Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law is an essential piece of EU legislation in presenting a unified approach to environmental protection across the European Union. The Directive compels EU Member States to provide criminal penalties for a minimum set of offenses against the environment in an effort to increase compliance with EU environmental law.

The report found that all states in Southeastern Europe have introduced crimes against the environment into their criminal codes. However, harmonization of national penal codes with the crimes included in the Environmental Crime Directive varies significantly by state, with some states achieving essentially full compliance and others including only basic pollution crimes. Many crimes are “partially harmonized”, criminalizing only certain aspects of the offenses listed in the Directive. Sanctions imposed for environmental crimes, particularly with regard to the size of fines imposed, also vary significantly from state to state. All states provide for both accomplice liability and liability of legal persons, as required by the Directive.

  • Download the report

Source: Themis network

« Record breaking number of EU citizens call to protect nature
EC seeks views on pollution register »

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join the IMPEL.eu newsletter list and stay up to date on all IMPEL.eu news.

Subscribe

News tags

Air pollution Biodiversity Circular economy Compliance Assurance Conference COVID-19 DTRT E-waste ECA ECHA EEA EIR ENPE Environmental Compliance Environmental crime European Commission General Assembly IED IED Implementation Implementation Challenge Industry and Air INECE IRI landfill Natura 2000 Nature Nature Protection NPRI Plastic waste REACH River development planning SPIDER WEB SWEAP Themis Waste Waste and TFS WasteForce Waste management Waste Shipment Regulation Water Water and Land Water Framework Directive WEEE Wildlife crime WSR

Menu

  • Home
  • Topics
    • Industry and air
    • Waste and TFS
    • Water and land
    • Nature protection
    • Cross-cutting tools and approaches
  • Tools
    • Permitting
    • Inspections
    • Doing the right things
    • Better regulation
    • IMPEL Review Initiative
    • PREVENT
  • Projects
    • IMPEL projects
    • IMPEL-ESIX
    • LIFE SWEAP
    • WasteForce
    • SPIDER WEB
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Press releases
  • Publications
    • Outreach material
    • IMPEL Documents
    • General Assembly Meetings
    • Conference reports
    • EU Documents
  • Events
    • Internal meetings
      • General assembly
      • Board meetings
      • Expert team meetings
    • Project meetings
    • Conferences
  • About IMPEL
    • Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Board
      • Secretariat
    • Members and observers
    • Becoming a member
    • Contact
  • 
  • 
  • 

IMPEL

Chemin des deux maisons 73, box 3
1200, Brussels
Belgium
Phone: +44 (0)20 3289 7442
Email: info@impel.eu
Skype: impelsecretariat


Become a member

Membership of IMPEL is open to organisations or authorities working in the public sector who implement and enforce environmental legislation. Learn all about the benefits​ of being a member to our network.
Read More

Copyright © 2021 IMPEL · Data protection · Cookie policy · Webdesign: Alva Design