Brussels, 04/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission announced on Tuesday its decision to initiate infringement proceedings against Portugal for failure to comply with the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), which aims to establish the Community "Natura 2000" network of protected natural habitats, and which is the Community's most ambitious initiative for protection of biodiversity.
Portugal will be receiving a formal letter of notice for not having proposed a sufficient number of sites to be protected. According to the terms of the directive, the Member States were to send to the Commission a complete and final list of sites to be included in the network, before June 1995 (Natura 2000 was to take effect in June 1998). Portugal is therefore five years late, which has effects beyond Portugal as the directive provides for a Community list to be established by June 1998 on the basis of the national lists.
A notice from the Commission's spokesman's service stresses that the Commission decision translates the concern of the Community executive, and of Margot Wallström in particular, who comments: "The continued delay in establishing Natura 2000 is a major issue for all those concerned with conserving Europe's endangered plants, animals and nature sites. I very much hope that the good preparatory work done in Portugal will be followed by early proposal of the outstanding Portuguese sites".
EUROPE recalls that the European Commission recently specified the link that it plans to establish between compliance by Member States with the Habitats Directive and the granting of funds under regional policy for the period 2000-2006 (see EUROPE of 17 March, p.11).