The Dutch House of Representatives adopted rules that give prosecutors and environmental officers more powers to tackle environmental crime and increase penalties for violations. The rules implement a European Union directive and make more offences punishable, including serious environmental harm as an offence in its own right. Fines of up to €40 million can be imposed, compared with fines of a few hundred thousand euros previously, and prosecutors will have more scope to pursue company directors and seek the closure of businesses involved in serious offences.

The rules also make it harder for companies to avoid prosecution by relying on outdated permits when their activities cause serious pollution. Environmental crime cited in the account includes drug dumping, illegal waste discharges and manure fraud, while PFAS discharges were mentioned as examples of pollution linked to outdated permits. Prosecutors and environmental-law experts welcomed the changes but said effective enforcement still faced limited capacity and fragmented responsibilities among the services involved.