Luxembourg, 28/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 28 June the European Court of Justice gave its judgement in the case (C-235/04 involving the European Commission versus Spain. The Commission deemed that this member state had not complied with the 1979 directive on wild bird conservation (79/409/EEC). Madrid was taken to the Court of Justice, which provided a decision on Thursday that was largely in favour of the Commission.
The Commission considers that Spain has not created and sufficiently classified special protection areas for birds (SPAs) in surface area and the number of these SPAs, given the importance of these zones for protecting birds identified in the ornithological inventory of birds published in 1998 (IBA 98). Spain questioned the validity and scientific accuracy of the inventory.
Following a detailed examination, the Court rejected the Spanish arguments. The credibility of the inventory was confirmed by sources such as the several NGOs that had participated in the publication of the IBA 98 (including the Birdlife organisation), three national parks, six universities, environmental advisors from 12 Autonomous Communities and the nature protection unit at the Spanish department of the environment.
The Court concluded that the inventory is reliable and that the SPAs are both insufficient in surface area and in number in the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia, Balearic and Canary Islands and insufficient in number in the Autonomous Communities of Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Galicia and Valencia (proof provided by the Commission on the surface area of the SPAs in the latter are, according to the judgement, inconsistent). Spain is therefore found guilty of having failed to meet its obligations in the amended 79/409 directive. (cd)