COMBATING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMINAL ILLEGALITIES IN A CROSS BORDER CONTEXT – ONE OF THE BASIC OBJECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

In this scientific study we will analyze current issues regarding the phenomenon of illegal
acts of a criminal nature against the environment in a cross-border context that constitute crimes
and the ways in which the European Union fights against it. Moreover, the article highlights the
objectives the European Union has set to combat this problem. The protection and improvement
of the quality of the environment in the European Union have always been among the priorities,
because crimes against the environment constitute an escalating international dilemma that has
lately been taking on more and more forms, which in fact represent a serious threat to humanity.
By their nature, once environmental crime has emerged, it requires international cooperation,
given the cross-border nature of pollution and its global implications. Moreover, this reality,
initially ignored, has led to the gradual affirmation of this objective on the European Union's
agenda. Such crimes pose a threat to the environment and therefore require an adequate and
effective response, often necessitating cross-border cooperation.