The European Commission decided on Thursday 26 January to refer Bulgaria, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Latvia and Portugal to the EU Court of Justice, six Member States that persist in not fully complying with the regulation ((EU) No 1143/2014) on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species, despite several reminders.
This is due to their failure to establish, implement and communicate to the Commission an action plan (or series of action plans) to address the main pathways of introduction and spread of invasive alien species of concern to the EU.
In addition, Bulgaria and Greece have not yet set up a monitoring system for invasive alien species of concern, although the deadline for doing so was January 2018.
By taking these six countries to court, the Commission is putting pressure on them to comply with EU law quickly, as it considers that insufficient progress has been made since the reasoned opinions were sent. It notes that invasive alien species are one of the five drivers of biodiversity loss and cost the European economy an estimated €12 billion a year in damage. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)