At the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council on Monday 22 June in Luxembourg, ministers discussed the management of brown bear populations at the request of Romania and Slovakia, supported in particular by the Czech Republic, Finland, Croatia and Slovenia.
Romania referred to a sharp increase in bear attacks on people and livestock. The brown bear population has risen from around 4,000 individuals when the country joined the EU in 2007 to nearly 11,500 today.
Romania and Slovakia asked the European Commission for a more flexible interpretation of Article 16 of the Habitats Directive, which governs derogations from the species’ strict protection regime. They also called for recognition of scientifically grounded control of brown bear population density when favourable conservation status has been reached.
Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia said they were facing similar issues linked to the increase in large carnivore populations.
The European Commission recalled that the current framework already allows derogations on grounds of public safety or the prevention of significant damage. It said it was ready to continue technical discussions on the use of these tools and invited Member States to contribute to the ongoing review of the Birds and Habitats Directives.
Link to the note: https://aeur.eu/f/mhp (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)