EU executive wants clamp-down on "green crimes"

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) Companies and people who dump toxic waste or illegally transport hazardous materials could face hefty jail terms and fines throughout the EU, according to proposals adopted by the European Commission today.

The European Union executive for the first time sought EU-wide minimum sentences for nine offences ranging from dumping toxic waste to harming protected plants or species, and unlawful trade in ozone-depleting substances.

''We cannot allow safe-havens of environmental crime inside the EU,'' Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said in a statement, adding that criminals were profiting from discrepancies in member states' criminal law systems.

The heaviest sentence -- at least five to 10 years in jail -- would apply to ''green crimes'' committed intentionally that killed or seriously injured people. Other offences would be punished by at least one to three years in prison.

Companies could be fined at least 750,000 to 1.5 million euros when a senior executive is responsible for an environmental offence that kills or seriously injures someone.

Firms would also be forced to clean up and directors could be removed from their jobs.

Member states and the European Parliament must approve the proposal for it to take effect, overriding national laws, a politically sensitive issue touching on the division of powers between national and EU law over criminal penalties.

It would be the first time EU-wide minimum sentences, which already exist for terrorism and drugs trafficking, were applied to environmental crimes.

The Commission says ''green crimes'' are on the rise, increasingly causing cross-border damage, and that EU states' measures are not strong enough and vary too much to stop them.

''Experience has shown that the existing systems of sanctions have not been sufficient,'' the proposal said. ''In order to achieve effective protection of the environment, there is a particular need for more dissuasive sanctions.'' REUTERS SY VC1838