EU has the right to demand member state environmental legislation

The EU has, even though criminal law normally does not fall under the union’s jurisdiction, the right to demand that its member states have an effective legislation when it is necessary to protect the environment. This is stated by the European Court of Justice in a ruling that annuls a legal framework on ship-source pollution, signed by the Council of the EU sine the Union already has this possibility through its legislative bodies.
The Court of Justice writes: “the fact remains that when the application of effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties by the competent national authorities is an essential measure for combating serious environmental offences, the Community legislature may require the Member States to introduce such penalties”