Supporting

• The Secretariat supports the Contracting Parties in their efforts to transpose and implement the provisions of the Directive.
• Through the work of the Environmental Task Force, experience and knowledge sharing between Contracting Parties and EU Member States is provided, in particular related to the establishment of financial instruments.
   

Monitoring

• The Secretariat monitors the Directive’s implementation through its regular activities and presents the results of its assessment in its Annual Implementation Report.
   

Timeline

general implementation deadline: 1 January 2021
 

Tasks

• Contracting Parties have to introduce a legal framework to ensure that those that have caused environmental damage liable for remediation.
• Through the implementation of the Directive’s provisions, Contracting Parties also have to oblige those whose activities threaten the environment liable for taking preventive action.

The aim of Directive 2004/35/EC is to establish a framework of environmental liability based on the ‘polluter-pays’ principle, to prevent and remedy environmental damage. The Ministerial Council Decision adapts the scope of Directive in order to limit the liability of operators to the extent they relate to the energy sector.

The overall aim of the Environmental Liability Directive is to prevent and fully remedy damaged natural resources and their services to the condition that would have existed if no damage had occurred.