Environment criminal law in today european union

AuthorIon Flamînzeanu
PositionFaculty of Law, University, Romania
Pages56-59
AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicalj ournal.univagora.ro
ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677
No. 3 (2013), pp. 56-59
56
ENVIRONMENT CRIMINAL LAW IN TODAY EUROPEAN UNION
I. Flmînzeanu
Ion Flmînzeanu
Faculty of Law, “Spiru Haret” University, Romania
Institute for Legal Research “Andrei Rdulescu”, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
*Correspondence: Ion Flmînzeanu, 12 Emil Rahovi Blvd., bl. R3, ap. 25, sector 4,
Bucharest, Romania
E-mail: ionflaminzeanu@yahoo.com
Abstract
Environment crime is among the European Union’s central concerns. The Tampere
European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999 at which a first work program for the
European Union action in the field of Justice and Home Affairs was adopted asked that
efforts be made to adopt common definitions of offences and penalties focusing on a number
of especially important sectors, amongst them environment crime. But despite this agreement
about the importance of joint the European Union action, environmental criminal law has
become the centre of a serious institutional fight between the European Commission,
supported by the European Parliament on the one hand and the Council, supported by the
great majority of the European Union member states on the other hand. At stake is nothing
less than the distribution of powers between the first and the third pillars, and therefore also
between the Commission and the European Union’s member states. The effect of this fight is
currently a legal vacuum on general environmental criminal law that was closed with the
Directive 2008/99/CE, taking into consideration the cross-border dimension of environmental
crime and the existing significant differences in the national legislation of the European
Union member states.
Key word : Tampere European Council, common definition of offences, third pillars,
enviromental crime.
Introduction
In February 2000, Denmark presented an initiative for a Framework Decision on
Environmental Crime. Same country has made a proposal for a Directive on the Protection of
the Environment through Criminal Law. Both proposals, defined offences as infringements of
secondary environmental legislation or implementing national legislation of and participation
in such activities were also considered an offence
1
.
On sanction, the proposals obliged European Union states to provide for natural
persons for criminal penalties, involving in serious cases deprivation of liberty.
2
The
Directive proposal went through the first reading of the European Parliament, after which an
amended proposal was adopted. But Council never took up the proposal for discussion, only
adopting the Danish Framework Decision proposal in 2003
3
.
1.The Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA, so adopting, on the protection of the
environment through criminal law was build substantively on the structure of the Council of
Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law.
4
In the
Decision, the offences are defined including the requirement of unlawful behaviour, i.e.
1
The Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999 ;
2
The Directive 2008/99/CE;
3
The Framework, Decision 2003/80/JHA;
4
Jean Pradel, Droit pénal général, Paris 1990.

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