doc__table__48 — COMMISSION NOTICE Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term…

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COMMISSION NOTICE Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term ‘environmental damage’ as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage · European Union

| 38. | As observed above, the occurrence of environmental damage or its imminent threat will often, although not always, coincide with an infringement of other Union environmental legislation. Such infringements may require or warrant separate action by Member State authorities, to secure the results required by other Union legislation (for example, the protection of nature sites under the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive), and to implement sanctions that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Thus, the same factual circumstances may give rise to both environmental liability and liability to sanctions, and in practice assessment of environmental damage under the Directive may take place in parallel with the assessment of breaches for other purposes. For example, conduct that Member States are required to criminalise under Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (‘the Environmental Crime Directive’) (70) includes some (although not all) conduct likely to give rise to environmental liability. (71) In this context, in order to assess the significance of environmental damage, competent authorities may find themselves drawing on the same information sources as those authorities responsible for sanctions. It is to be stressed, however, that application of liability requirements under the Directive is separate to the application of sanctions. In this regard, the fact that authorities may be taking action to impose administrative or criminal sanctions is not a reason to set aside the duties that competent authorities have to ensure that environmental damage is assessed and prevented, damage factors immediately managed or damage remediated in accordance with the Directive (the reverse is also true: the pursuit of environmental liability is not a reason to disregard the role of sanctions). (72)

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.