- The European Union has become the first international body to criminalise wide-scale environmental damage «comparable to ecocide»
- The European LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project supports the new European Directive against eco-crimes.
Brussels, 28 November 2023. The Council presidency and European Parliament negotiators reached on last Thursday November 16 a preliminary agreement on a proposed EU law that would improve the investigation and prosecution of environmental crime offences. The European LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project, which advocates the use of natural fumigants, welcomes this measure, which will help to improve the environment.
The directive defines environmental crime more precisely and adds new types of environmental criminal offences, replacing the previous 2008 directive, which has become obsolete in the face of developments in EU environmental law. It also harmonises the level of penalties for natural persons and, for the first time, for legal persons across all EU member states.
The Council and European Parliament agreed to increase the number of offences that currently exist under EU criminal law from 9 to 18. This broadens and clarifies the type of conduct that is prohibited because it harms the environment. The new offences include timber trafficking, which is a major cause of deforestation in some parts of the world, the illegal recycling of polluting components of ships and serious breaches of legislation on chemicals.
In addition, member states will have to ensure that training is provided for those working to detect, investigate and prosecute environmental crime, such as judges, prosecutors and police authorities. EU countries will also need to make sure that these authorities have adequate resources – for instance in terms of the number of qualified staff and the financial resources to carry out their functions under the directive. The directive also contains provisions on support and assistance to persons reporting environmental crime, environmental defenders and persons affected by these crimes.
The agreement still needs to be confirmed by both institutions before going through the formal adoption procedure.
The LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project, lines up with environmental protection
LIFE NextFUMIGREEN, as a project committed to sustainable development by promoting the use of natural fumigants as a green alternative to agrochemicals, welcomes the approval of this agreement which it is intended to remember the importance and application of ecology in our daily lives to combat climate change.
About LIFE NextFUMIGREEN
The European project LIFE NextFUMIGREEN actively promotes food safety by developing natural fumigants from plant extracts to control pests in intensive horticultural crops under glass. With the leadership of Fumihogar and with the collaboration of the Foundation for Agricultural Auxiliary Technologies, the Finnova Foundation, B&B Asesores Auditores Ambientales, Comercial Quimica Masso and BrioAgro Tech, the project has a total budget of 2,758,921.01 €, 60% subsidised by the LIFE Programme.
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