Strengthening the legal framework and aligning with the EU Environmental Crime Directive
As part of efforts to meet the European Union’s requirements and advance Kosovo’s EU integration process, this week workshops and meetings were held with administrative and judicial institutions led by the Environmental Inspectorate within the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure, with support from the German Government through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
This activity aims to strengthen the legal framework for prosecuting environmental crimes, clarify the division of responsibilities among relevant institutions and explore possibilities for harmonizing with the new EU Environmental Crime Directive (2024/1203).
“A very well-chosen topic and initiative to begin the preparation of policy analyses and documents, which should precede before deciding to draft a national strategy for combating environmental crimes. These analyses will address the areas covered by the EU Directive, focusing on the challenges and issues faced by the environmental sector, as well as by the relevant independent institutions, including the prosecution and the courts”, stated Selvije Elezaj from the Ministry of Justice.
“Given the challenges in enforcing environmental crime legislation, the lack of effective inter-institutional cooperation, and the ongoing environmental degradation caused by illegal activities - often difficult to classify as environmental crimes- I highly appreciate this initiative to assess the need for a national strategy to combat environmental crimes and to strengthen cooperation among the responsible institutions,” said Elbasan Shala from the Central Level of the Environmental Inspectorate.
This activity marks an important step toward protecting the environment and safeguarding citizens’ fundamental rights in line with European standards. Find out more about the project with focus on the Support to the EU-Integration Process | GIZ