S&D MEPs welcome the Commission’s proposal to upgrade the out-dated Environmental Crimes Directive, as outlined in a Parliamentary report on environmental liability in May 2021. However, the S&D Group believes the EU should go further in protecting the environment through criminal law than the Commission’s proposals today by recognising ecocide as a crime under EU law. Harsher sanctions on lawbreakers and stronger enforcement are important steps in deterring environmental crimes and protecting the planet.
Tiemo Wölken, S&D spokesperson for legal affairs, said:
“The evidence that environmental crimes are taking place within the EU is crystal clear. Yet the rates of prosecution against companies in environmental cases is still far too low in the EU. We fully support changes to EU laws that harmonise how we classify environmental crimes in the EU and that ensures sanctions are enforced in full. Socialists and democrats believe we need to go much further by recognizing ecocide as an environmental crime under EU law. Mass environmental damage is irreversible and future generations will have to live with the consequences. This has to stop and dragging offenders into courts to be tried on environmental crimes would be a very effective deterrent. The Parliament is ready to substantially improve the proposal in order to ascertain the role of the EU as a global leader on environmental protection”