Page 16 - Lawtext Environmental Liabilty Journal Example

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[2008] 3 Env. Liability : The emergence of European Union environmental criminal law – Part I : Hedemann-Robinson 8383
to personal cross-border migration, over other policy fields within the emerging single market, specifically to provide
such as the environment. Two types of cooperation were citizens with a high level of safety within ‘an area of freedom,
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addressed. Specifically, ‘judicial cooperation in criminal security and justice’. Moreover, the subject of
matters’ as well as ‘police cooperation for the purposes environmental crime remained unspecified as an area for
100
of preventing and combating terrorism, unlawful drug third pillar cooperation. However, the fact that
trafficking and other serious forms of international crime, environmental crime was not expressly mentioned in the
including if necessary certain aspects of customs treaty provisions did not exclude it from being addressed
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cooperation’ constituted areas that were to be regarded under the auspices of Title VI TEU; the absence of any
as matters of common interest in criminal policy among specific reference to it as a potential area for
EU Member States. intergovernmental discussions merely reflected the relative
Environmental crime was not specifically addressed. lack of political priority attached to the field at the time.
The initial range of policy instruments made available for The changes made to the original version of the third
the purposes of the developing cooperation under the pillar by the ToA and ToN allowed the Union to engage in
auspices of the third pillar reflected Member States’ in-depth political cooperation over a broad range of criminal
intentions to ensure that any agreements over policy would policy matters, covering not only aspects of cross-border
not have any legal force over and above that expected under cooperation between national institutions involved in the
international law. Specifically, the range of instrumentation application of criminal law but also the harmonisation of
included the classic format of conventions as well as novel national criminal law. Article 29 EU sets out the broad
mechanisms of joint positions and joint actions, the legal objectives underpinning Title VI TEU as well as its material
effects of which were unclear. scope:
The ToA 1997, which entered into force in May 1999,
substantially restructured the third pillar to focus it solely Article 29 Without prejudice to the powers of the
on the sector of criminal policy. The other elements to the European Community, the Union’s objective shall be
third pillar were transferred to the first pillar, thereafter to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an
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falling within the supranational competence of the area of freedom, security and justice by developing
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Community. Subject to a few minor amendments that common action among the Member States in the fields
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were made by virtue of the ToN 2001, the ToA version of of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters
the third pillar has remained substantially the same. In order and by preventing and combating racism and
to reflect the third pillar’s remit, Title VI to the TEU was xenophobia.
renamed as containing Provisions on Police and Judicial That objective shall be achieved by preventing and
Cooperation on Criminal Matters. While the combating crime, organised or otherwise, in particular
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intergovernmental nature of the decision-making and legal terrorism, trafficking in persons and offences against
status and force of third pillar norms were not substantially children, illicit drug trafficking and illicit arms
changed by these treaty amendments, the contents of the trafficking, corruption and fraud, through:
third pillar were expanded, providing far greater detail on – closer co-operation between police forces, customs
the scope, type and intensity of Union policy integration authorities and other competent authorities in the
in relation to combating crime. Member States, both directly and through the
Admittedly, the main political priority for political European Police Office (Europol), in accordance
cooperation on crime post-ToA remained focused on with the provisions of Articles 30 and 32;
providing a basis for policing increased personal mobility – closer co-operation between judicial and other
competent authorities of the Member States,
including co-operation through the European
Judicial Co-operation Unit (‘Eurojust’), in
100 Article K.7 EU. accordance with the provisions of Articles 31 and
101 Article K.9 EU. 32;
102 The areas of asylum, immigration and judicial cooperation in
civil matters became incorporated within the provisions of Title IV
to the EC Treaty on Visas, Asylum, Immigration and Other Policies
relating to the Free Movement of Persons (Arts 61–69 EC (ex arts
73i-k)), while the sector of customs cooperation now fell under the
remit of art 135 EC (ex art 116). 106 The objective of transforming the geographical area of the EU
103 Specifically with regard to arts 31 and 40 EU. into an area of freedom and security of justice was introduced into
104 OJ 2001 C80. the Union’s treaty framework by virtue of the ToA. See arts 2,
105 Arts 29–42 EU (ex arts K.1-K.14). fourth indent, 29(1) EU and 61 EC.

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