On December 15, 2021, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new directive on environmental crime. According to an EU press release, the proposal aims to oblige member states to take criminal measures to protect the environment more efficiently. The proposal, which aims to replace Directive 2008/99/EC, “sets new EU environmental criminal offences,” “clarifies existing definitions of environmental criminal offences,” proposes additional sanctions for environmental crimes, and aims to ensure effective investigations and criminal proceedings as well as to help “cross-border investigation and prosecution.”