Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-19-Speech-1-060"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080519.20.1-060"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the European Union is resorting to the instrument of criminal law. In other words, sentences are to be passed in future in the name of the European Union, and these powers are to be exercised initially in respect of infringements of environmental law. This is a far-reaching and remarkable step, because criminal law is actually outside the sphere of competence of the European Union. Indeed, it is one of the core areas of the Member States’ national sovereignty.
That is precisely why it took two rulings from the European Court of Justice to break the ground for this directive. That is curious in itself, because both the Council and the Commission and Parliament have long been in agreement that penal measures are a valid instrument for the enforcement of environmental law. It took several years, however, to establish where responsibility lay for such measures – with the Member States on the basis of framework decisions or with the Community on the basis of a directive.
The European Court of Justice endorsed the position adopted by the Commission, which is not surprising. Moreover, having now been defused, the conflict is unlikely to resurface, since the new Treaty of Lisbon addresses the problem and comes down more heavily in favour of the Community than the rulings of the ECJ.
This, indeed, is the reason why we concluded a first-reading agreement. We wanted to avoid having to restart the whole procedure from scratch if a solution did not materialise this year. Given a change in the substantive legal basis and in view of the forthcoming European elections, a considerable length of time might no doubt have elapsed before the appropriate legislation could be enacted. This is why we unanimously took the view that we must make every effort to reach a solution at first reading. When I say ‘we’, I mean the Slovenian Presidency – and I very much regret that it is not represented here, especially since I put on a tasteful tie in its honour – the Commission and the shadow rapporteurs, to whom I wish to pay special tribute for their amicable, constructive and informed cooperation. It was a joy to work with them.
The new directive rests on three pillars, which I should like at least to outline briefly. First of all, we have not only defined the criminal acts that would henceforth be punishable but also set out in an annex the specific provisions under which offenders may be charged. That accords with the principle of
. It is not just any criminal offence which would be punishable but the infringement of one of the legal provisions precisely defined in the annex. It was important to enshrine this principle in the legislation.
The second point is, to a certain extent, an incorporation of the proportionality principle. The purpose of the directive cannot be to throw the book at everyone who commits even the most trivial environmental transgression but rather to combat significant offences. For this reason, petty offences would not be punishable under the directive.
Thirdly, we also laid down that punishability would presuppose unlawful conduct. We unanimously enshrined these three principles in the draft. We also decidedly improved the definitions. I now keenly await the debate. Let me reiterate my thanks to all the Members of the House who have made this compromise possible."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples