On June 26, 2024, the fifth session of working group five was held in Skopje, for chapter 27 on the environment, on the topic “Moving national legislation towards European efforts for environmental justice”.
At the session, several questions were raised with a focus on the legal and institutional structure as a basic prerequisite for prevention and the fight against the threat to the environment.
The European Commission’s reports on the country, years ago, noted several ineffective areas and non-compliance with the EU Directives on environmental crime. The process of harmonizing these laws is still ongoing and the implementation of measures to improve air quality is weak because there are not enough administrative and financial resources. In Macedonia, the legal framework for prevention and promotion of a healthy environment is inadequate, and outdated and that is why there is a need to supplement and predict new crimes that were not covered by the Criminal Code. Regarding the penal policy, experts say that the largest number of sentences handed down in the past years in our country are conditional sanctions and it is necessary to replace them with effective prison sentences or administrative sanctions.
“One of the biggest changes is the amendment to the Criminal Code that was made in 2023. Of the recommendations and conclusions that should emerge from this meeting, one of the most important issues is of course the section in the Ministry of Interior that should be in charge of environmental issues. Unfortunately, since 2009, that department has not been there, we hope that with the formation of the new government, the establishment of that department will be a priority. Within the framework of the Academy of Judges and Public Prosecutors, a curriculum for environmental justice has been created, but we believe that the number of trainings held on this topic is not sufficient,” said Nikola Jovanovski from the Center for Legal Research and Analysis.
The meeting was also attended by Norbert Kurila, adviser to the President of Slovakia on environment, energy, climate change and business climate, he shared the experience from his country and said that there are institutions, primarily the police and the Ministry of the Interior, there is a special unit of about 200 inspectors and she takes care of these issues.
“We have knowledge that can be used in Macedonia, we have made it more effective for environmental crime. We have several institutions that take care of these issues, especially the police, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Environment. For example, just one figure, out of 3000 cases reported to the police or local authorities, about 6% of them are treated or cleared. We have special units for the environment, which are part of the police, in the beginning it was a small unit, but now with the national headquarters and regional offices, there are about 200. Of course, once you lay down the rules, there are penalties, but there are also preventions.” said Norbert Kurila, adviser to the President of Slovakia on the environment.