European governments can bring criminal prosecutions against any company that violates the European Union's environmental legislation, the bloc's high court ruled on Tuesday.
BRUSSELS, Belgium — European governments can bring criminal prosecutions against any company that violates the European Union's environmental legislation, the bloc's high court ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling boosts the powers of the European Commission, the executive body that drafts EU legislation which the bloc's 25 member states must incorporate into domestic law.
The Commission filed a lawsuit against all EU governments in 2001 for failing to include a reference to criminal prosecution of industrial violators in an anti-pollution bill it had drafted.
The governments, keen not to be seen to be yielding more powers to the EU, argued that criminal prosecutions shouuld be left to national authorities.
But the court said the Commission was entitled to ensure the laws it drafts are as effective as possible.
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It said the fight against pollution was a cross-border issue and "one of the essential objectives" of the EU.
"The ruling strengthens the effectiveness of EU legislation in the case of environmental protection," Michel Petit, the European Commission's chief legal counsel, told a news conference.
The Commission's anti-pollution law forced any EU government "to establish as criminal offences under its domestic law" the discharge of hazardous wastes and dangerous radiation. It did not set minimum penalties or jail terms, leaving that to national courts.
Officials said Tuesday's court ruling may encourage the Commission to include the possibility of criminal prosecution in other areas, such as internal trade issues.
The Commission is currently at odds with some EU governments over a bill that would force phone network operators and internet access providers to retain traffic data for up to a year or more as part of the EU's fight against terrorism.
Petit said there was no immediate desire to refer to criminal prosecutions in that legislation -- which has been the source of years of difficult debate due to privacy and cost concerns.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the high court ruling on the environmental law "breaks new ground. It strengthens democracy and efficiency in the European Union."
He said the Commission would draft criminal penalties "only for particularly serious offenses," and insisted the ruling would not lead to a power-grab in a sensitive battle over sovereignty between nationalists and those advocating greater centralized power in the EU.
A similar dispute arose during the drafting of the EU's proposed constitution over whether governments should cede veto rights or control of sensitive areas such as foreign or cultural policy to the EU.
Source: Associated Press
