The second regional seminar on environmental compliance assurance, focusing on policies and tools for enforcement of environmental compliance, took place on 17-18 November 2021 virtually through Zoom.
Meeting objectives, expected outputs and outcomes
This second regional seminar provided its participants from the Eastern Partner (EaP) and OECD economies an opportunity to share and discuss findings of two environmental compliance assurance reviews of EaP countries, of Armenia and the Republic of Moldova, that the OECD carried out in 2020‑2021. It also discussed characteristics of a clear and comprehensive environmental enforcement policy, tools at the disposal of authorities to enforce compliance, and the optimal combination of penalties for non-compliance.
Participants
Participants included representatives from EaP countries and OECD member countries as well as the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL) and the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment (ENPE).
Background
Enforcement is an integral component of the environmental compliance assurance chain. It refers to action that public authorities take to bring non-compliant entities into compliance with environmental regulations. Enforcement action can consist of administrative or criminal sanctions, or a requirement for the polluter to remedy environmental damage caused. The concept of environmental liability implies that the polluter that has caused environmental damage has financial responsibility for the damage, and is set out in the EU Environmental Liability Directive (ELD).
The six EU Eastern Partner countries use a variety of penalties for enforcing environmental compliance. Some of them are in the process of revising their provisions for environmental liability, environmental penalties and environmental damage assessment.
The European Union for Environment (EU4Environment) Action supports their reform priorities with the goal of strengthening their environmental compliance assurance systems and liability regimes.
The first EU4Environment regional seminar on environmental compliance assurance was held virtually on 25 November 2020 and allowed participants to discuss risk-based approaches to environmental compliance assurance.
Meeting documents
Reports
The environmental compliance assurance system in Armenia (English | Armenian)
The environmental compliance assurance system in the Republic of Moldova (English | Romanian)
Presentation slides
Day 1 (17 November 2021)
Item 2. Environmental compliance assurance systems in EaP economies: Case study of Armenia
Preliminary findings (Ms. Olga Olson, Environment Directorate, OECD)
Republic of Armenia, Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body (Mr. Vrezh Galoyan, Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body (EPMIB) of Armenia)
EU approaches to the regulatory and institutional framework (Mr. Henk Ruessink, Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate, the Netherlands)
Item 3. Environmental compliance assurance systems in EaP economies: Case study of the Republic of Moldova
Preliminary findings (Ms. Olga Olson, Environment Directorate, OECD)
The environmental compliance assurance system in the Republic of Moldova (Ms. Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov, Ministry of Environment of Moldova)
EU approaches to the legislative and institutional set-up for environmental compliance assurance (Mr. Simon Bingham, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the UK)
Day 2 (18 November 2021)
Item 2. Policies and tools for successful enforcement of compliance with environmental regulations: International perspectives
OECD compendium of good practices in promoting, monitoring and enforcing environmental compliance (Mr. Eugene Mazur, Environment Directorate, OECD)
Dealing with non-compliance (Ms. Nancy Isarin, Ambiendura environmental consultancy, Portugal)
Recommendations of an EU LIFE+ project’s WG on Sanctioning, Prosecution and Judicial Practice (Prof. Dr. Carole M. Billiet, UHasselt & Partner Equal Partners (Brussels Bar), Belgium)
Experience of the Czech Republic with environment enforcement measures (Ms. Kateřina Weissová, High Prosecutor’s Office, Prague, Czech Republic)
Item 3. Policies and tools for successful enforcement of compliance with environmental regulations: International perspectives (continued)
Shipments of Waste Enforcement Actions Project (LIFE SWEAP) (Ms. Katey Olley, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the UK)
Intelligence development and investigatory techniques (Mr. Ben Ryder and Mr. Richard Stainton, Environmental Agency of England, the UK)
ELD enforcement in Italy and outcomes of the IMPEL CAED project (Mr. Francesco Andreotti, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Italy)
Item 5. Conclusions and update on environmental compliance assurance activities in the region
Update on environmental compliance assurance activities in the region (Ms. Olga Olson, Environment Directorate, OECD)