The new Environmental Crime Directive entered into force on 20 May 2024 and will be transposed by EU Member States into national law by 21 May 2026. The Directive introduces a significantly strengthened legal framework for preventing, detecting, investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating environmental offences across the EU. 

The purpose of this note is to (i) give a brief overview of the Directive, highlighting specifically the provisions that have direct implications for international judicial cooperation in criminal proceedings concerning environmental offences and (ii) bring to the attention of practitioners dealing with cross-border environmental crime investigations the assistance that Eurojust can provide in light of the novelties introduced by the Directive.