Framework decision 2005/667 - Council Framework Decision 2005/667/JHA to strengthen the criminal-law framework for the enforcement of the law against ship-source pollution - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 255/164

The Action Plan of the Council and the Commission on how best to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam on an area of freedom, security and justice (2) and the conclusions of the Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999, and in particular point 48 thereof, call for proposals for legislation to combat environmental crime, in particular common penalties and comparable procedural guarantees.

The fight against intentional or seriously negligent ship-source pollution constitutes one of the Union's priorities. Points 32 to 34 of the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council of 12 and 13 December 2002 and the statement of the JHA Council of 19 December 2002 following the shipwreck of the tanker Prestige, in particular, express the Union's determination to adopt all the measures needed to avoid recurrence of such damage.

To this end, as the Commission stated in its Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on improving safety at sea in response to the Prestige accident, the legislation of the Member States should be approximated.

The purpose of Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (3) and this framework Decision, which supplements Directive 2005/35/EC with detailed rules in criminal matters, is to carry out this approximation.

This framework Decision, based on Article 34 of the Treaty on the European Union, is the correct instrument for imposing on the Member States the obligation to provide for criminal penalties.

Due to the specific nature of the conduct, common penalties with regard to legal persons should be introduced.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by all the Member States and with the European Community as a party, is particularly important in the context of cooperation.

The best possible cooperation should be organised between Member States to guarantee the swift transmission of information from one Member State to another. Contact points should be designated and identified.

Since the objectives of this framework Decision cannot be achieved adequately by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the cross-border character of the damage which may be caused by the behaviour concerned, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this framework Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

This framework Decision respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised by Article 6 of the Treaty of the European Union and reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

This framework Decision does not contain an explicit obligation for Member States bordering straits used for international navigation subject to the regime for transit passage, as laid down in Part III, section 2 of the 1982...