EU Authorises Signature of New Convention to Criminalise Environmental Harm

On 1 December 2025, the European Union adopted Council Decision (EU) 2025/2493, authorising the Union to sign the newly adopted Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. This marks the EU’s strongest commitment yet to criminalising serious environmental harm. The Convention, approved by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in May 2025 and opened for signature on 3 December 2025, replaces the original 1998 criminal environmental convention and reflects nearly three decades of legal evolution.

The Council emphasises that the Convention aligns with the EU’s environmental objectives under Article 191 TFEU, which requires a “high level of protection” and the continual improvement of environmental quality (Council Decision (EU) 2025/2493, Recital 3). As environmental crime has expanded into one of the world’s most profitable transnational criminal sectors, involving illegal waste trade, industrial pollution and organised resource exploitation, the EU has increasingly acknowledged that administrative sanctions are insufficient. The Decision, therefore, situates the Convention within a broader shift toward criminal enforcement as a key instrument in environmental governance.

Substantively, the Convention introduces harmonised criminal-law standards across signatory jurisdictions. It provides a shared framework for defining environmental offences, establishing the liability of natural and legal persons, setting out sanctions, clarifying procedural rights and strengthening international cooperation (Council Decision (EU) 2025/2493, Recital 4). It also underscores the role of preventive measures and the participation of civil society. This structure mirrors the EU’s internal legal reforms, in particular the Environmental Crime Directive, Directive (EU) 2024/1203, adopted in April 2024, which the Council notes is “broadly aligned” with the Convention (Council Decision (EU) 2025/2493, Recital 5; Directive (EU) 2024/1203, OJ L, 30 Apr. 2024).

The Decision marks a significant development in the EU’s approach to environmental enforcement. For years, the prosecution of pollution and other forms of environmental damage has been hindered by divergent national rules, uneven sanctioning practices and practical difficulties in pursuing cross-border cases. By committing to this updated criminal-law framework, the EU signals an intention to treat serious environmental harm with the same legal weight as other complex transnational offences.

The Convention's success will still depend on the willingness of Member States and institutions to operationalise and enforce its standards effectively. Yet its adoption already signals Europe’s commitment to confronting environmental crime with the same seriousness afforded to other transnational threats.