Summary:
On 11 April 2025, draft legislation aimed at creating a general offence for causing serious environmental damage was tabled in the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region by MP Zakia Khattabi, former Federal Minister of the Environment and member of the French-speaking Ecolo Party.
The proposal aims to target any natural or legal person who, by action or omission, causes serious damage to the Region's environment without having taken all necessary precautions to avoid, reduce, or prevent it.
At its highest level, the text is designed to align with Article 94 (ecocide) of Belgium's Penal Code (entering into force April 2026) seeking to fill a legal gap in Brussels law, which previously only sanctioned sector-specific environmental harms, by creating a cross-cutting and autonomous offence.
Key innovations include:
The creation of a general offence sanctioning serious environmental damage (punishable by 1 month to 5 years' imprisonment and fines of EUR 10,000–1,000,000)
A qualified offence, equivalent to the crime of ecocide, for the most serious environmental harms causing widespread, substantial and lasting damage (penalties of up to 8 years' imprisonment, rising to 10 years if a death results)
Corporate penalties of up to 5 percent of global annual turnover for legal persons committing the most serious offences
The explicit introduction of the principle of punishable negligence: failure to take precautions in the face of dangerous activities may now be criminalised
The proposed legislation comes amid broader EU requirements under the revised Environmental Crime Directive (ECD) 2024/1203, which took effect in May 2024 and must be incorporated into domestic legislation by May 2026. The newly revised ECD establishes minimum standards to criminalise serious environmental offences, expand the list of crimes, create a two-tier structure treating the most harmful cases as qualified ecocide-level offences, and strengthen enforcement, while leaving space for Member States to exceed these minimums with stronger protections.
If adopted, the proposal would mark Belgium's first regional ecocide legislation, positioning Brussels as a pioneer in the legal recognition of environmental crimes.
Patricia Willocq, Francophone Countries Director, Stop Ecocide International, and Founder, Stop Ecocide Belgium, said:
“This proposal is the coherent thing to do. It brings Brussels law in line with both the EU and Belgium’s new Penal Code, and sends a strong message: protecting our environment from severe harm is a matter of justice as well as policy. By closing legal gaps and aligning frameworks, Brussels positions itself as a pioneer — showing that ecocide-level offences must be taken seriously, everywhere.”
You can access the full bill here.
