Brussels, 23/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The call for the European nature protection directives to be left unchanged became louder on Friday 20 November at a conference in Brussels organised by the Commission with all the stakeholders involved in the current health check on the habitats directive (92/43/EEC) and birds directive (79/409/EEC).
The goal of the conference was to discuss initial results of an independent study on the assessment of the effectiveness of the two directives undertaken by the Commission with a view to their possible revision as part of “better legislation”. The study's preliminary conclusion was that these pieces of legislation are effective in terms of sustainable development and of their cost effectiveness for both nature and the economy in Europe (see EUROPE 11430).
Two further member states - the Netherlands and Slovakia - joined the nine (Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) which had written to the European Commission calling on it not to touch these two directives which form the legislative framework for nature conservation in Europe (see EUROPE 11420). In the European Parliament, too, there is broad support from all political groups. MEP Martin Haüsling (Greens/EFA, Germany), group spokesperson on agricultural policy and member of the Parliament's environment committee, opined that it was not the directives that are deficient but the way they have been transposed and how they are monitored.
It is application of the two directives that has to be improved, repeated NGOs such as WWF, the EEB, Friends of the Earth and Birdlife Europe. “The Commission's first findings clearly show where the real problems lie: in poor and uneven enforcement, lack of funding and the impact of perverse policies such as the Agriculture policy of the EU”, stated Ariel Brunner of Birdlife Europe. A “cheque” representing over half a million citizens - those who, in the public consultation, called for the two directives to be kept - was presented to Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella.
The conference provided Commissioner Vella with the opportunity to state the importance of the directives and to reassure participants, noting that, in the opinion of Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans himself “better legislation does not mean lowering standards”. Nonetheless, he refused to speculate on the decision that will be taken in June 2016, when the Commission proposals are expected.
“Our natural capital should be built into the DNA of our social and economic thinking and reflected in genuine accountability at local, national, EU and international levels”, Vella said. While acknowledging that the habitats and birds directives are key components of the arsenal that the EU has at its disposal to provide nature with the level of protection it deserves, he pointed out that “biodiversity in the EU is exposed to increasing pressures”, as was shown in the latest report on the state of nature in Europe, the report on the environment and the mid-term review of the biodiversity strategy.
The commissioner also highlighted the need to give nature “the best possible proactive protection” since remedial action alone will not be enough.
What needs to be done is to find ways to improve the framework to strengthen implementation, find “approaches that will support SMEs without imposing an unnecessary burden” and “work more closely with farmers”.
“The nature directives play a central role in our biodiversity strategy, and they are critical instruments. But taken in isolation, these two directives will not enable us to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems by 2020” he warned. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)