Bescherming van Habitatrichtlijn: procedures gestart tegen acht lidstaten (en)

The European Commission is taking action to conserve nature in Europe by pursuing infringement procedures against eight Member States. Luxembourg has been requested to take measures to comply with a 2003 ruling of the Court of Justice requiring improved legislation to comply with an EU law on the conservation of habitats and species (Habitats Directive). The request takes the form of a first written warning ("letter of formal notice") under Article 228 of the EC Treaty. The Commission has decided to refer the United Kingdom to the Court over shortcomings in its national legislation to implement the Habitats Directive. The Netherlands, France, UK, Spain, Italy and Ireland have all received requests to improve their implementation of EU nature conservation legislation. It has also decided to refer Spain to the Court due to gaps in the Spanish network of protected sites for wild birds. These requests take the form of final written warnings ("reasoned opinions"). The decisions taken highlight the need for nature conservation goals to be underpinned by adequate national legislation, designations and good practice.

Commenting on the decisions, Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström, said: "Member States have committed themselves to halting the loss of bio-diversity in the EU by 2010⁽¹⁾. If this objective is to be achieved, Member States need to reinforce their legislation and practice. I urge them to take the necessary steps as soon as possible"

Individual cases

Luxembourg

On 13 February 2003, the Court of Justice ruled that the legislation used by Luxembourg to implement the Habitats Directive was deficient in several important respects (case C-75/01). More specifically, Luxembourg's legislation does not adequately reflect the definitions set out in the Directive. It also does not have enough rules to ensure the conservation of habitats or the protection of species in accordance with the Directive's requirements. As these shortcomings have yet to be remedied, the Commission has sent Luxembourg a letter of formal notice under Article 228 of the Treaty. Failure to comply with Court rulings may result in substantial fines being imposed on the Member State.

Netherlands

The Commission has sent the Netherlands a final written warning because it considers that a project to deepen and widen the river Scheldt did not respect EU nature conservation legislation. The project was carried out within the framework of a treaty that has been signed between the Netherlands and the Flemish Region of Belgium to help facilitate access to the port of Antwerp. Because the river Scheldt is a designated special protection area (SPA) under the Wild Birds Directives, certain safeguards must be respected. These include the adoption of compensatory measures to make up for any habitat damage. The Commission considers that the compensatory measures that have been taken are inadequate.

France

The Commission has sent France a final written warning in response to the investigation of a complaint accusing the French authorities of not taking adequate measures to protect the Alsatian Hamster, a species requiring strict protection under the Habitats Directive. Having examined the relevant French legislation, the Commission has concluded that it fails to prohibit the deliberate disturbance of this species, particularly during the period of breeding, rearing, hibernation and migration, and the deterioration or destruction of its breeding sites or resting places. The Commission therefore urges France to modify its legislation to be in conformity with the Habitats Directive.

United Kingdom

The Commission has decided to refer the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice over shortcomings in the legislation that it uses to give effect to the Habitats Directive. The Commission understands that the UK authorities are in the process of adopting new measures to bring their legislation into conformity with the Directive. These measures include extending the scope of their national nature protection legislation to offshore areas and bringing in new powers to ensure that EU nature sites are protected from deterioration through neglect.

The Commission has also sent the United Kingdom a final written warning in response to a complaint concerning a new road that is likely to have a negative impact upon St David's Wood at Caerphilly, in Wales. The road's design will involve destroying bat roosts. Bats are protected species under the Habitats Directive, and such destruction is prohibited unless a prior legal exemption (or "derogation") has been granted. Such exceptions are subject to strict conditions, and the Commission considers that the UK authorities have not respected them.

Spain

The Commission has decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice because it has not designated enough sites as special protection areas (SPAs) under the Wild Birds Directive. Member States are obliged to designate all the most suitable territories of the wild birds concerned. Spain's network of SPAs is now extensive, but in some parts of the country gaps remain to be filled. The Commission is pursuing similar action against other Member States with a view to completing the Community's overall network of SPAs.

The Commission has also sent Spain a final written warning following the investigation of a complaint concerning the negative environmental effects of a sea outfall (ie: marine discharge pipeline for waste water) serving the town of Santa Pola. This is situated near the island of Tabarca, which forms part of a site nominated by Spain for protection under the Habitats Directive. The Commission considers that the outfall negatively affects posidonia beds (valuable aquatic plants), which are a priority for conservation under the Directive. The Commission also considers that Spain has contravened the terms of the EU's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive⁽²⁾ in this case. This Directive says that extra stringent measures must be taken regarding treatment of waste water which is released into protected nature and marine areas.

Italy

The Commission has sent Italy a final written warning in relation to a hydro-electric project that involves abstracting water from the Schiesone River (Sondrio). Following the investigation of a complaint, the Commission is concerned that this project will lead to the deterioration of important fluvial habitats within a site that is nominated for protection under the Habitats Directive.

Ireland

The Commission has sent Ireland three final written warnings with regard to EU nature conservation legislation. One written warning concerns the continuing failure of Ireland to meet its obligations under the Wild Birds Directive to protect the habitats of rare and endangered wild bird species such as the Corncrake, the Chough and the Hen Harrier. In terms of the percentage of national territory covered, Ireland currently has the second smallest network of special protection areas (SPAs) designated in the EU. National legislation and SPA conservation practice in Ireland is also unsatisfactory.

A second written warning concerns weaknesses in Ireland's implementation of the Habitats Directive with regard to protected species, such as cetaceans and bats. The Commission considers that Ireland is not doing enough to safeguard the breeding and resting places of such species, and that the relevant Irish legislation is not strict enough.

The third written warning concerns weaknesses in Ireland's legislation with regard to recreational activities that may adversely affect sites protected under the Habitats Directive (such as the use of quad bikes on fragile peatlands). Irish legislation lacks adequate provisions to deal with such environmental pressures.

Austria

The Commission has sent Austria a final written warning following the investigation of a complaint that the Special Protection Area (SPA) known as 'Lauteracher Ried,' in Vorarlberg, had been designated with scientifically incorrect boundaries in order to facilitate the construction of a new road. The Commission concluded that two sites known as 'Soren' and 'Gleggen,' which are important for Corncrake and other meadow-breeding birds were wrongly excluded from the SPA, and that the Austrian authorities were not applying correctly relevant EU nature conservation legislation.

Background

Wild Birds Directive

The Wild Birds Directive⁽³⁾ is the EU's oldest piece of nature conservation legislation. It creates a comprehensive scheme of protection for the EU's wild bird species. There are a number of separate but related components to this scheme. One relates to habitat conservation and includes a requirement to designate SPAs for migratory and other vulnerable wild bird species. A second consists of a series of bans imposed on activities that directly threaten birds (such as the deliberate destruction of nests and the taking of eggs) and associated activities such as trading in live or dead birds. A third component establishes rules that limit the number of species that can be hunted and the periods during which they can be hunted (hunting seasons should not include periods of greatest vulnerability such as return from migration, reproduction and the raising of chicks). Rules also define certain permitted methods of hunting (for example, non-selective hunting methods). For the second and third components, derogations can be granted provided that strict requirements are met and provided that no other satisfactory solution is possible.

Habitats Directive

The Habitats Directive⁽⁴⁾ provides a comprehensive protection scheme for a range of animals and plants, as well as for a selection of habitat types. It provided for the creation, by June 1998, of a network of protected sites known as Natura 2000, which embrace SPAs designated under the Wild Birds Directive and sites proposed by Member States under the Habitats Directive. The sites proposed by Member States must be based on scientific criteria and scientific information. All sites in the network must respect the stipulated safeguards. These include the prior assessment of potentially damaging plans and projects, the requirement that these plans and projects be approved only if they represent an overriding interest and only if is no alternative solution exists, and measures for providing compensatory habitats in the event of damage. Once fully in place, this network should ensure that the best examples of EU natural habitats, and areas hosting rare and endangered plant and animal species, are properly conserved and protected. The Habitats Directive is the EU's flagship contribution to safeguarding global bio-diversity.

Delays in the submission of site proposals by Member States (which were originally due by June 1995) have meant that the completion of the Natura 2000 network has fallen seriously behind schedule. In addition to providing for the creation of Natura 2000, the Habitats Directive provides for a ban on the downgrading of breeding and resting places for certain animal species. Derogations can be granted, but only under strict conditions.

Legal Process

Article 226 of the Treaty gives the Commission powers to take legal action against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations. If the Commission considers that there may be an infringement of Community law that warrants the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter of Formal Notice" (or first written warning) to the Member State concerned, requesting it to submit its observations by a specified date, usually two months.

In the light of the reply or absence of a reply from the Member State concerned, the Commission may decide to address a "Reasoned Opinion" (or final written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and definitively sets out the reasons why it considers there to have been an infringement of Community law and calls upon the Member State to comply within a specified period, usually two months.

If the Member State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission may decide to bring the case before the Court of Justice.

Article 228 of the Treaty gives the Commission power to act against a Member State that does not comply with a previous judgement of the European Court of Justice. The article also allows the Commission to ask the Court to impose a financial penalty on the Member State concerned.

For current statistics on infringements in general see:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions ;

^{(1)Decision of the European Council in Göteburg in June 2001 to halt biodiversity decline within the EU by 2010}

^{(2)Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment}

^{(3)Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds}

^{(4)Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna}