Legal provisions of COM(2021)851 - Protection of the environment through criminal law

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dossier COM(2021)851 - Protection of the environment through criminal law.
document COM(2021)851 EN
date April 11, 2024

Contents

Article 1 - Subject matter

This Directive establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in order to protect the environment more effectively.

Article 2 - Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘unlawful’ means a conduct infringing one of the following:

(a)Union legislation, which irrespective of its legal basis contributes to the pursuit of the objectives of Union policy of protecting the environment as set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

(b)a law, an administrative regulation of a Member State or a decision taken by a competent authority of a Member State that gives effect to the Union legislation referred to in point (a).

The conduct shall be deemed unlawful even if carried out under an authorisation by a competent authority in a Member State when the authorisation was obtained fraudulently or by corruption, extortion or coercion;

(2) ‘habitat within a protected site’ means any habitat of species for which an area is classified as a special protection area pursuant to Article 4(1) or (2) of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 30 , or any natural habitat or a habitat of species for which a site is designated as a special area of conservation pursuant to Article 4(4) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC 31 ;

(3) ‘legal person’ means any legal entity having such status under the applicable national law, except for States or public bodies exercising State authority and for public international organisations;

(4) ‘public concerned’ means the persons affected or likely to be affected by the offences referred to in Articles 3 or 4. For the purposes of this definition, persons having a sufficient interest or maintaining the impairment of a right as well as non-governmental organisations promoting the protection of the environment and meeting any proportionate requirements under national law shall be deemed to have an interest;

(5) ‘victim’ has the meaning attributed to it in Article 2(1) point (a) of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 32 .

Article 3 - Offences

1. Member States shall ensure that the following conduct constitutes a criminal offence when it is unlawful and committed intentionally:

(a)the discharge, emission or introduction of a quantity of materials or substances or ionising radiation into air, soil or water which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(b)the placing on the market of a product which, in breach of a prohibition or another requirement, causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to air, water or soil quality, or to animals or plants as a result of the product's use on a larger scale;

(c)the manufacture, placing on the market or use of substances, whether on their own, in mixtures or in articles, including their incorporation into articles, when:

(i)this activity is restricted pursuant to Title VIII and Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council 33 ; or

(ii)this activity is prohibited pursuant to Title VII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006; or

34 (iii) this activity is not in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council; or

35 (iv) this activity is not in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council; or

(v)this activity falls under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 36 ; or

(vi)this activity is prohibited pursuant to Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council 37 ,

and it causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(d)the execution of projects referred to in Article 1(2)(a) of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 38 without a development consent or an assessment with regard to their effects on the environment, which causes or is likely to cause substantial damage to the factors defined in Article 3(1) of Directive 2011/92/EU;

(e)the collection, transport, recovery or disposal of waste, the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, including action taken as a dealer or a broker (waste management), when an unlawful conduct:

39 (i)  concerns hazardous waste as defined in Article 3(2) of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and is undertaken in a non-negligible quantity;

(ii)concerns other waste than referred to in point (i) and causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(f)the shipment of waste, within the meaning of Article 2(35) of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council 40  when such shipment is undertaken in a non-negligible quantity, whether executed in a single shipment or in several shipments which appear to be linked;

(g)the recycling of ships falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 41 , without complying with the requirements of Article 6(2), point (a) of that Regulation;

(h)the ship-source discharges of polluting substances referred to in Article 4(1) of Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 42  on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties, including criminal penalties, into any of the areas referred to in Article 3(1) of that Directive, provided that the ship-source discharges do not satisfy the exceptions set in Article 5 of that Directive; this provision shall not apply to individual cases, where the ship-source discharge does not cause deterioration in the quality of water, unless repeated cases by the same offender in conjunction result in deterioration in the quality of water;

(i)the installation, operation or dismantling of an installation in which a dangerous activity is carried out or in which dangerous substances, preparations or pollutants are stored or used falling within the scope of Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 43 , Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 44 or Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 45  and which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(j)the manufacture, production, processing, handling, use, holding, storage, transport, import, export or disposal of radioactive material falling within the scope of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom 46 , Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom 47 or Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom 48 , which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(k)the abstraction of surface water or groundwater which causes or is likely to cause substantial damage to the ecological status or potential of surface water bodies or to the quantitative status of groundwater bodies;

(l)the killing, destruction, taking of, possession, sale or offering for sale of a specimen or specimens of wild fauna or flora species listed in Annexes IV and V (when species in Annex V are subject to the same measures as those adopted for species in Annex IV) to Council Directive 92/43/EEC 49 and the species referred to in Article 1 of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 50 , except for cases where the conduct concerns a negligible quantity of such specimens;

(m)trading in specimens of wild fauna or flora species or parts or derivatives thereof listed in Annexes A and B to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 51 , except for cases where the conduct concerns a negligible quantity of such specimens;

(n)the placing or making available on the Union market of illegally harvested timber or of timber products that were made of illegally harvested wood, falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council 52 , except for cases where the conduct concerns a negligible quantity; [If a Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 is adopted before this Directive, point (n) to be replaced with a criminal offence within the scope of Article 3 of that Regulation.]

(o)any conduct which causes the deterioration of a habitat within a protected site, within the meaning of Article 6(2) of the Directive 92/43/EEC, when this deterioration is significant;

(p)introduction or spread of invasive alien species of Union concern when:

(i)the conduct breaches restrictions set out in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council 53 ;

(ii)the conduct breaches a condition of permit issued under Article 8 or of authorisation granted under Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 and causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants;

(q)production, placing on the market, import, export, use, emission or release of ozone depleting substances as defined in Article 3 (4) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council 54  or of products and equipment containing or relying on such substances; 

(r)production, placing on the market, import, export, use, emission or release of fluorinated greenhouse gases as defined in Article 2 (1) of Regulation 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council 55  or of products and equipment containing or relying on such gases.

2. Member States shall ensure that the conduct referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h), (i), (j), (k), (m), (n), (p) (ii), (q), (r) also constitutes a criminal offence, when committed with at least serious negligence.

3. Member States shall ensure that their national legislation specifies that the following elements shall be taken into account, where relevant, when assessing whether the damage or likely damage is substantial for the purposes of the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of offences referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (e), (i), (j), (k) and (p):

(a)the baseline condition of the affected environment;

(b)whether the damage is long-lasting, medium term or short term;

(c)severity of the damage;

(d)spread of the damage;

(e)reversibility of the damage.

4. Member States shall ensure that their national legislation specifies that the following elements shall be taken into account when assessing whether the activity is likely to cause damage to the quality of air, the quality of soil or the quality of water, or to animals or plants for the purposes of the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of offences referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (e), (i), (j), (k) and (p):

(a)the conduct relates to an activity which is considered as risky or dangerous, requires an authorisation which was not obtained or complied with;

(b)the extent to which the values, parameters or limits set out in legal acts or in an authorisation issued for the activity are exceeded;

(c)whether the material or substance is classified as dangerous, hazardous or otherwise listed as harmful to the environment or human health.

5. Member States shall ensure that their national legislation specifies that the following elements shall be taken into account when assessing whether the quantity is negligible or non-negligible for the purposes of the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of offences referred to in paragraph 1, points (e), (f), (l), (m), (n):

(a)the number of items subject to the offence;

(b)the extent to which the regulatory threshold, value or another mandatory parameter is exceeded;

(c)the conservation status of the fauna or flora species concerned;

(d)the cost of restoration of environmental damage.

Article 4 - Inciting, aiding and abetting and attempt

1. Member States shall ensure that inciting, and aiding and abetting the commission of any of the criminal offences referred to in Article 3(1) are punishable as criminal offences.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that an attempt to commit any of the criminal offences referred to in Article 3 (1) points (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h), (i), (j), (k), (m), (n), (p) (ii), (q), (r) when committed intentionally is punishable as a criminal offence.

Article 5 - Penalties for natural persons

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that offences referred to in Article 3 are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least ten years if they cause or are likely to cause death or serious injury to any person.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Article 3(1) points (a) to (j), (n), (q), (r) are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least six years.

4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Article 3(1) points (k), (l), (m), (o), (p) are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years.

5. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that natural persons who have committed the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 may be subject to additional sanctions or measures which shall include:

(a)obligation to reinstate the environment within a given time period;

(b)fines;

(c)temporary or permanent exclusions from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions;

(d)disqualification from directing establishments of the type used for committing the offence;

(e)withdrawal of permits and authorisations to pursue activities which have resulted in committing the offence;

(f)temporary bans on running for elected or public office;

(g)national or Union-wide publication of the judicial decision relating to the conviction or any sanctions or measures applied.

Article 6 - Liability of legal persons

1. Member States shall ensure that legal persons can be held liable for offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 where such offences have been committed for their benefit by any person who has a leading position within the legal person, acting either individually or as part of an organ of the legal person, based on:

(a)a power of representation of the legal person;

(b)an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person;

(c)an authority to exercise control within the legal person.

2. Member States shall also ensure that legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control by a person referred to in paragraph 1 has made possible the commission of an offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 for the benefit of the legal person by a person under its authority.

3. Liability of legal persons under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not exclude criminal proceedings against natural persons who are perpetrators, inciters or accessories in the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4.

Article 7 - Sanctions for legal persons

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that a legal person held liable pursuant to Article 6(1) is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that sanctions or measures for legal persons liable pursuant to Article 6(1) for the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 shall include:

(a)criminal or non-criminal fines;

(b)the obligation to reinstate the environment within a given period;

(c)exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid;

(d)temporary exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions;

(e)temporary or permanent disqualification from the practice of business activities;

(f)withdrawal of permits and authorisations to pursue activities which have resulted in committing the offence;

(g)placing under judicial supervision;

(h)judicial winding-up;

(i)temporary or permanent closure of establishments used for committing the offence;

(j)obligation of companies to install due diligence schemes for enhancing compliance with environmental standards;

(k)publication of the judicial decision relating to the conviction or any sanctions or measures applied.

3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that a legal person held liable pursuant to Article 6(2) is punishable by sanctions or measures, which are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that offences referred to in Article 3(1) points (a) to (j), (n), (q), (r) are punishable by fines, the maximum limit of which shall be not less than 5% of the total worldwide turnover of the legal person [/undertaking] in the business year preceding the fining decision.

5. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that offences referred to in Article 3(1) points (k), (l), (m), (o), (p) are punishable by fines, the maximum limit of which shall be not less than 3% of the total worldwide turnover of the legal person [/undertaking] in the business year preceding the fining decision.

6. Member States shall take measures to ensure that the illegal profits generated from the offence and the annual turnover of the legal person are taken into account when a decision is made on the appropriate level of a fine pursuant to paragraph 1.

Article 8 - Aggravating circumstances

In so far as the following circumstances do not already form part of the constituent elements of the criminal offences referred to in Article 3, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in relation to the relevant offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4, the following circumstances may be regarded as aggravating circumstances:

(a)the offence caused the death of, or serious injury to, a person;

(b)the offence caused destruction or irreversible or long-lasting substantial damage to an ecosystem;

(c)the offence was committed in the framework of a criminal organisation within the meaning of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA 56 ;

(d)the offence involved the use of false or forged documents;

(e)the offence was committed by a public official when performing his/her duties;

(f)the offender committed similar previous infringements of environmental law;

(g)the offence generated or was expected to generate substantial financial benefits, or avoided substantial expenses, directly or indirectly;

(h)the offender's conduct gives rise to liability for environmental damage but the offender does not fulfil their obligations to take remedial action under Article 6 of Directive 2004/35/EC 57 ;

(i)the offender does not provide assistance to inspection and other enforcement authorities when legally required;

(j)the offender actively obstructs inspection, custom controls or investigation activities, or intimidates or interferes with witnesses or complainants.

Article 9 - Mitigating circumstances

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in relation to the relevant offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4, the following circumstances may be regarded as mitigating circumstances:

(a)the offender restores nature to its previous condition;

(b)the offender provides the administrative or judicial authorities with information which they would not otherwise have been able to obtain, helping them to:

(i)identify or bring to justice the other offenders;

(ii)find evidence.

Article 10 - Freezing and confiscation

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure, as appropriate, that their competent authorities may freeze or confiscate, in accordance with Directive 2014/42/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 58 , the proceeds derived from and instrumentalities used or intended to be used in the commission or contribution to the commission of the offences as referred to in this Directive.

Article 11 - Limitation periods for criminal offences

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to provide for a limitation period that enables the investigation, prosecution, trial and judicial adjudication of criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 for a sufficient period of time after the commission of those criminal offences, in order for those criminal offences to be tackled effectively.

2. Member State shall the take necessary measures to enable the investigation, prosecution, trial and judicial decision:

(a)of offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 which are punishable by a maximum sanction of at least ten years of imprisonment, for a period of at least ten years from the time when the offence was committed, when offences are punishable;

(b)of offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 which are punishable by a maximum sanction of at least six years of imprisonment, for a period of at least six years from the time when the offence was committed, when offences are punishable;

(c)of offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 which are punishable by a maximum sanction of at least four years of imprisonment, for a period of at least four years from the time when the offence was committed, when offences are punishable.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States may establish a limitation period that is shorter than ten years, but not shorter than four years, provided that the period may be interrupted or suspended in the event of specified acts.

4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the enforcement of:

(a)a penalty of imprisonment in the case of a criminal offence which is punishable by a maximum sanction of at least ten years of imprisonment, imposed following a final conviction for a criminal offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4, for at least ten years from the date of the final conviction;

(b)a penalty of imprisonment in the case of a criminal offence which is punishable by a maximum sanction of at least six years of imprisonment, imposed following a final conviction for a criminal offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4, for at least six years from the date of the final conviction;

(c)a penalty of imprisonment in the case of a criminal offence which is punishable by a maximum sanction of at least four years of imprisonment, imposed following a final conviction for a criminal offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4, for at least four years from the date of the final conviction.

These periods may include extensions of the limitation period arising from interruption or suspension.

Article 12 - Jurisdiction

1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to establish its jurisdiction over the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 where:

(a)the offence was committed in whole or in part on its territory;

(b)the offence was committed on board a ship or an aircraft registered in it or flying its flag;

(c)the damage occurred on its territory;

(d)the offender is one of its nationals or habitual residents. 

2. A Member State shall inform the Commission where it decides to extend its jurisdiction to offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 which have been committed outside its territory, where:

(a)the offence is committed for the benefit of a legal person established on its territory;

(b)the offence is committed against one of its nationals or its habitual residents;

(c)the offence has created a severe risk for the environment on its territory.

Where an offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 falls within the jurisdiction of more than one Member State, these Member States shall cooperate to determine which Member State shall conduct criminal proceedings. The matter shall, where appropriate and in accordance with Article 12 of Council Framework Decision 2009/948/JHA 59 , be referred to Eurojust.

3. In cases referred to in paragraph 1, points (c) and (d), Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the exercise of their jurisdiction is not subject to the condition that a prosecution can be initiated only following a denunciation from the State of the place where the criminal offence was committed.

Article 13 - Protection of persons who report environmental offences or assist the investigation

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that protection granted under Directive (EU) 2019/1937, is applicable to persons reporting criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of this Directive.

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that persons reporting offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of this Directive and providing evidence or otherwise cooperating with the investigation, prosecution or adjudication of such offences are provided the necessary support and assistance in the context of criminal proceedings.

Article 14 - Rights for the public concerned to participate in proceedings

Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with their national legal system, members of the public concerned have appropriate rights to participate in proceedings concerning offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4, for instance as a civil party.

Article 15 - Prevention

Member States shall take appropriate action, such as information and awareness-raising campaigns and research and education programmes, to reduce overall environmental criminal offences, raise public awareness and reduce the risk of population of becoming a victim of an environmental criminal offence. Where appropriate, Member States shall act in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders.

Article 16 - Resources

Member States shall ensure that national authorities which detect, investigate, prosecute or adjudicate environmental offences have a sufficient number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical and technological resources necessary for the effective performance of their functions related to the implementation of this Directive.

Article 17 - Training

Without prejudice to judicial independence and differences in the organisation of the judiciary across the Union, Member States shall request those responsible for the training of judges, prosecutors, police, judicial staff and competent authorities’ staff involved in criminal proceedings and investigations to provide at regular intervals specialised training with respect to the objectives of this Directive and appropriate to the functions of the involved staff and authorities.

Article 18 - Investigative tools

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that effective investigative tools, such as those which are used in organised crime or other serious crime cases, are also available for investigating or prosecuting offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4.

Article 19 - Coordination and cooperation between competent authorities within a Member State

Member States shall take the necessary measures to establish appropriate mechanisms for coordination and cooperation at strategic and operational levels among all their competent authorities involved in the prevention of and the fight against environmental criminal offences. Such mechanisms shall be aimed at least at:

(a)ensuring common priorities and understanding of the relationship between criminal and administrative enforcement;

(b)exchange of information for strategic and operational purposes;

(c)consultation in individual investigations;

(d)the exchange of best practices; 

(e)assistance to European networks of practitioners working on matters relevant to combating environmental offences and related infringements,

and may take the form of specialised coordination bodies, memoranda of understanding between competent authorities, national enforcement networks and joint training activities.

Article 20 - National strategy

1. By [OP – please insert the date – within one year after the entry into force of this Directive], Member States shall establish, publish and implement a national strategy on combating environmental criminal offences which as a minimum shall address the following:

(a)the objectives and priorities of national policy in this area of offence;

(b)the roles and responsibilities of all the competent authorities involved in countering this type of offence;

(c)the modes of coordination and cooperation between the competent authorities;

(d)the use of administrative and civil law to address infringements related to the offences within the scope of this Directive;

(e)the resources needed and how specialisation of enforcement professionals will be supported;

(f)the procedures and mechanisms for regular monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved;

(g)assistance of European networks working on matters directly relevant to combating environmental offences and related infringements.

2. Member States shall ensure that the strategy is reviewed and updated at regular intervals no longer than 5 years, on a risk-analysis-based-approach, in order to take account of relevant developments and trends and related threats regarding environmental crime.

Article 21 - Data collection and statistics

1. Member States shall collect statistical data to monitor the effectiveness of their systems to combat environmental criminal offences.

2. The statistical data referred to in paragraph 1 shall include at least the following:

(a)the number of environmental crime cases reported;

(b)the number of environmental crime cases investigated;

(c)the average length of the criminal investigations of environmental crimes;

(d)the number of convictions for environmental crime; 

(e)the number of natural persons convicted and sanctioned for environmental crime;

(f)the number of legal persons sanctioned for environmental crime or equivalent offences; 

(g)the number of dismissed court cases for environmental crime;

(h)the types and levels of sanctions imposed for environmental crime, including per categories of environmental offences according to Article 3.

3. Member States shall ensure that a consolidated review of their statistics is regularly published.

4. Member States shall annually transmit to the Commission the statistical data referred to in paragraph 2 in a standard format established in accordance with Article 22.

5. The Commission shall regularly publish a report based on the statistical data transmitted by the Member States. The report shall be published for the first time three years after the standard format referred to in Article 22 has been determined.

Article 22 - Implementing powers

1. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt implementing acts establishing the standard format for data transmission referred to in Article 21(4). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 23(2).

2. For the purposes of the transmission of statistical data, the standard format shall contain the following elements:

(a)a common classification of environmental crimes;

(b)a common understanding of counting units;

(c)a common understanding of procedural stages (investigation, prosecution, trial) in environmental crime proceedings; 

(d)a common reporting format.

Article 23 - Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

3. Where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 24 - Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [OP – please insert the date – within 18 months after entry into force of the Directive]. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

Article 25 - Evaluation and reporting

1. The Commission shall by [OP – please insert the date - two years after the transposition period is over], submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council assessing the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures to comply with this Directive. Member States shall provide the Commission with the necessary information for the preparation of that report.

2. Every two years as of [OP – please insert the date one year after the transposition period is over], Member States shall send the Commission a report within three months which includes a summary about implementation of and actions taken in accordance with Articles 15 to 17, 19 and 20.

3. By [OP – please insert the date - five years after the transposition period is over], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the impact of this Directive and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council. Member States shall provide the Commission with necessary information for the preparation of that report.

Article 26 - Replacement of Directive 2008/99/EC

Directive 2008/99/EC is replaced with regard to the Member States bound by this Directive, without prejudice to the obligations of those Member States with regard to the date for transposition of that Directive into national law. With regard to the Member States bound by this Directive, references to Directive 2008/99/EC shall be construed as references to this Directive. As regards Member States not bound by this Directive, they shall remain bound by Directive 2008/98/EC.

Article 27 - Application of Directive 2005/35/EC

Directive 2009/123/EC shall cease to apply to the Member States participating in this Directive from the date of its transposition.

Article 28 - Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal the European Union.

Article 29 - Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.