Nature Summit: EU officials to consider wildlife's future in Europe
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Campaigners from across Europe are in Brussels today to tell the European Commission (EC) to drop the attack on vital nature laws, and focus on their enforcement instead.
The discussions have particular relevance for Britain as the future of special sites and landscapes, such as parts of the Thames Estuary, the New Forest, the Scottish Highlands and the North Norfolk coast, as well as key species such as Osprey, White-tailed Eagle, Avocet and Common Crane, are protected under EU Nature Directives.
Conservationists (including the RSPB’s Chief Executive), politicians and representatives of the EU institutions are also attending the Conference on the Fitness Check on EU Nature Legislation, organised by the EC in Brussels as part of the review of the Birds and Habitats Directives: collectively known as the Nature Directives.
EU Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, will outline the commission’s first findings from the process so far. Commission consultants will outline their findings from the biggest ever detailed evaluation of nature conservation legislation in Europe. The results, which included over half a million responses from citizens across the EU concerned about threats to the Nature Directives, will be discussed by panels composed of officials from Member States, industry and farmers’ representatives, conservation organisations and MEPs.
It’s feared the Fitness Check of the laws, which is part of the Commission ‘REFIT’ agenda, could be used as an excuse to re-open and potentially weaken them under the guise of ‘better regulation’. However, since the review began, the people of Europe have demonstrated an unprecedented show of support to protect nature. A record number of people took part in a public consultation on this issue in the summer, with the overwhelming majority of the more than a half a million who responded backing the directives, and asking for stronger implementation.
Last month, environment ministers from nine EU countries, including Germany, France and Spain – though not the UK - signed a letter to the commission calling for the laws to be better implemented, not weakened. In the same week, an equally supportive letter followed from MEPs representing the seven biggest political groupings in the European Parliament. A European Parliament draft report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, presented earlier this month, also highlighted the importance of protecting the Nature Directives.
RSPB Chief Executive Michael Clarke said: “At a time when nature is facing an extreme crisis, the Fitness Check evidence has shown unequivocally that the Nature Directives not only work but are the strongest tool Europe has to prevent further erosion of nature. The evidence proves it makes no sense to undermine the Directives. It is also clear that problems, such as poor and uneven enforcement, lack of funding and the impact of measures like the Common Agricultural Policy are responsible for driving down populations of threatened wildlife.”
Campaigners from the conservation organisations behind the Nature Alert campaign to protect the Directives (BirdLife Europe, EEB, Friends of the Earth and WWF) will be raising awareness outside the event and will also be represented among the speakers.
The European Commission’s decisions on the future of Nature Directives is expected by June 2016.
The discussions have particular relevance for Britain as the future of special sites and landscapes, such as parts of the Thames Estuary, the New Forest, the Scottish Highlands and the North Norfolk coast, as well as key species such as Osprey, White-tailed Eagle, Avocet and Common Crane, are protected under EU Nature Directives.
Conservationists (including the RSPB’s Chief Executive), politicians and representatives of the EU institutions are also attending the Conference on the Fitness Check on EU Nature Legislation, organised by the EC in Brussels as part of the review of the Birds and Habitats Directives: collectively known as the Nature Directives.
EU Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, will outline the commission’s first findings from the process so far. Commission consultants will outline their findings from the biggest ever detailed evaluation of nature conservation legislation in Europe. The results, which included over half a million responses from citizens across the EU concerned about threats to the Nature Directives, will be discussed by panels composed of officials from Member States, industry and farmers’ representatives, conservation organisations and MEPs.
It’s feared the Fitness Check of the laws, which is part of the Commission ‘REFIT’ agenda, could be used as an excuse to re-open and potentially weaken them under the guise of ‘better regulation’. However, since the review began, the people of Europe have demonstrated an unprecedented show of support to protect nature. A record number of people took part in a public consultation on this issue in the summer, with the overwhelming majority of the more than a half a million who responded backing the directives, and asking for stronger implementation.
Last month, environment ministers from nine EU countries, including Germany, France and Spain – though not the UK - signed a letter to the commission calling for the laws to be better implemented, not weakened. In the same week, an equally supportive letter followed from MEPs representing the seven biggest political groupings in the European Parliament. A European Parliament draft report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, presented earlier this month, also highlighted the importance of protecting the Nature Directives.
RSPB Chief Executive Michael Clarke said: “At a time when nature is facing an extreme crisis, the Fitness Check evidence has shown unequivocally that the Nature Directives not only work but are the strongest tool Europe has to prevent further erosion of nature. The evidence proves it makes no sense to undermine the Directives. It is also clear that problems, such as poor and uneven enforcement, lack of funding and the impact of measures like the Common Agricultural Policy are responsible for driving down populations of threatened wildlife.”
Campaigners from the conservation organisations behind the Nature Alert campaign to protect the Directives (BirdLife Europe, EEB, Friends of the Earth and WWF) will be raising awareness outside the event and will also be represented among the speakers.
The European Commission’s decisions on the future of Nature Directives is expected by June 2016.
