Question Time: By transposing EU acquis we will continue to protect Croatia's natural beauty

Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan answered the parliamentary question regarding new criminal justice solutions that contribute to the protection of Croatian natural resources

During today’s Question Time as part of the 8th session of the Croatian Parliament, MPs asked the Government of the Republic of Croatia 40 questions.

The question addressed to Minister Habijan was about the importance of a continuous nature protection policy covered by several ministerial portfolios and new criminal justice solutions that contribute to the protection of Croatian natural resources.

In his reply, the Minister pointed out the activities undertaken so far in the area of nature and environment protection as well as the commitment of Croatia as a member state of the European Union to transpose regulations and directives adopted at EU level.

'By 21 May 2026, we have to transpose the Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. We have established a Working Group, and the work will be very demanding as we are talking about numerous, existing and new, blanket criminal offences that rely on other laws to define their elements. The working group is broad and includes the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of the Interior, as well as judicial institutions', the Minister said.

The Environmental Crime Directive lays down minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions, a large part of which relates to measures to prevent and combat such offences.

'Great attention will also need to be focused on education. In this sense, especially when we talk about new offences, this applies to prosecutors, judges, the police. We envisage an important role of the Judicial Academy, as these are new offences', the Minister pointed out.

‘A major part of the offences laid down by this Directive are already regulated by the existing Criminal Code and other laws. New offences concern the production and export of products that have been produced or are associated with deforestation, and the production, import and export or release of fluorinated greenhouse gases. The cross-sectoral Working Group has a major challenge ahead, but ultimately, our goal is to continue to protect the vast natural beauty of the Republic of Croatia', Minister Habijan concluded.

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