On Thursday 14 November, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against Germany and Bulgaria in two separate cases concerning the Natura 2000 network in the case of Germany, and the fight against invasive alien species in the case of Bulgaria.
Case C-47/23. According to the European court, Germany failed to fulfil its obligations concerning the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Directive 92/43/EEC as amended by Directive 2013/17/EU), by “failing, in a general and structural manner” to “take appropriate steps to avoid the deterioration” of the lowland and mountain hay meadows protected by the Natura 2000 network.
See the court’s ruling: https://aeur.eu/f/eav
Case C-165/23. The court also convicted Bulgaria of failing to draw up and implement an action plan for preventing and combating the spread of invasive alien species of concern to the EU (Regulation 1143/2014).
See the Court’s ruling (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/eae (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)