Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-19-Speech-1-062"
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"en.20080519.20.1-062"2
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Mr President, Mr Nassauer and I may not be wearing entirely identical ties, but he nonetheless has my entire support for the work he has done – and my sincere thanks.
The Commission welcomes the outcome of the negotiations with Parliament and the Council, and the fact that agreement at first reading seems possible. This is yet another success for the three institutions and it demonstrates, Mr President, that the codecision procedure is very effective, even where the issues are complicated and difficult. I must say that Mr Nassauer, as rapporteur for the Committee on Legal Affairs, the draftsman of the Environment Committee’s opinion and the shadow rapporteurs all worked hard and constructively with the Council Presidency and the Commission to achieve this compromise from the informal trialogue, which is before you today.
Mr Nassauer has explained the issues well, so I shall be brief. It is true that efficient environmental protection depends on the effective and complete transposition of Community policy. Criminal law is an indispensable tool in that respect. When it comes to the most serious offences, the only real deterrent is the sharp sanction of criminal penalties, always bearing in mind, as you have pointed out, the need to respect the principle of proportionality.
While the Commission would have wished to approximate the level of penalties, the Court of Justice judgment of October 2007 makes that impossible on the legal basis of the Treaty, and the Court’s ruling must be respected. Even without approximating the level of penalties, however, the directive will contribute significantly to more efficient protection of the environment – not least through its deterrent effect. The Member States will agree on definitions of environmental offences, on the extent of corporate liability for such offences, and on the need to introduce effective, proportionate and deterrent sanctions.
We therefore hope and trust that, given the ground we have already covered, all this can be achieved. The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law was signed here in Strasbourg 10 years ago – and it has not yet come into force! It is thus high time that we created an effective European legal instrument concerning protection of the environment in criminal law. I am counting on Parliament’s support so that we may achieve our goal without delay, and I should like once again to thank the rapporteur.
In conclusion, the Commission is bound to make certain declarations which form part of the compromise agreed with the legislative institutions. I shall now read these declarations, Mr President.
‘Declaration No 1: the European Commission takes note of the following amendment, adopted by the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs. “Where a continuing activity proves after a lapse of time to give rise to environmental damage which may in turn give rise to criminal liability under this Directive, the question whether or not the perpetrator of the damage acted intentionally or negligently should be determined by reference to the time when the perpetrator became aware, or should have been aware, of the facts constituting the offence and not to the time when the perpetrator commenced its activity. It should be borne in mind in this connection that the prior grant of an authorisation, licence or concession should not constitute a defence in such circumstances.” The Commission fully understands the concerns expressed in this amendment. These matters lie within the competence of the Member States and we are confident that the Member States will take these important questions into consideration.’
‘European Commission Declaration No 2: the secondary legislation associated with Annex B of this Directive, concerning health and safety and intended to protect the public and the environment against dangers arising from activities involving ionising radiation, was adopted on the basis of the Euratom Treaty. Member States’ obligations to introduce criminal penalties in application of the Directive therefore extend to unlawful behaviour in breach of the provisions of legislation adopted on the basis of the Euratom Treaty, and they must be determined with reference to that legislation.’
I am sorry that I had to read these two texts out, but I was required to do so. That done, Mr President, I now intend to give my full attention to the debate."@en1
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