Commission evaluation finds EU environmental liability law underused and unevenly applied across Member States

A European Commission staff working document published on 16 July 2026 evaluates the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) and concludes that while the directive has established a common minimum standard for remedying environmental damage across the EU, it is unevenly applied and underused. The evaluation, based on data from 2013-2022, reports almost 600 ELD cases, with 236 in Poland and 165 in Greece, but five Member States reported zero cases and 14 reported seven or fewer. The document identifies several shortcomings: the 'significant damage' threshold is unclear and perceived as very high; remediation in kind is a cornerstone but complementary or compensatory remediation is rarely carried out; the directive does not impose liability on whole capital groups or executives, nor mandatory insurance, leading to operator insolvency; overlaps with the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) cause underuse; and the ELD does not cover damage to air quality, soil contamination affecting only the environment, or diffuse pollution from microplastics or PFAS. The evaluation notes that 2021 Commission Guidelines aimed to clarify the damage threshold, but data on their impact is insufficient. The document is an executive summary of a longer staff working document (SWD(2026)401) and does not include specific legislative proposals. The evaluation's findings suggest that the ELD's effectiveness in making polluters pay is reduced by limited scope, uneven uptake, and insufficient financial security. The Commission may consider follow-up actions, but no timetable is given.