Brussels, Belgium ? Companies and individuals found responsible for environmental disasters should face criminal charges, the European Union’s executive said Friday in proposing a measure that would punish serious offenses across the 27-nation bloc with up to five years in prison or a $975,000 fine.

Under the proposal, European courts would be allowed to put a company out of business and order those convicted to clean up the environment.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said those found responsible for such disasters as last year’s dumping of toxic waste in Ivory Coast, in which 10 people died, should be punished.

“The recent hazardous waste disaster in the Ivory Coast shows how environmental crimes can have devastating effects on people and the environment,” he said.

The proposal faces a tough review by member governments and the European Parliament, which will have the final say on whether to adopt the measure.

Several nations, including Britain and Denmark, are reluctant to give the EU a say over such a sensitive national issue as criminal sanctions – laws traditionally drafted by national parliaments and not the EU institutions in Brussels.

EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said the measure was “crucial to avoid criminals profiting” from different judicial systems among member countries. “We cannot allow safe havens of environmental crime inside the EU.”

Frattini said corporations were behind 73 percent of environmental crimes. “It is not enough to punish and prosecute managers. It’s very important also that corporations pay fines,” he said.

Dumping toxic substances, shipping hazardous waste or trading in endangered species can have devastating effects on health and the environment, the EU executive said.