authorising the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the Union, amendments to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats ("the Convention") aims to conserve European wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, especially those whose conservation requires the co-operation of several States. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the Council of Europe. The Convention entered into force on 1 June 1982. The European Union is a Contracting Party to this Convention since 1 September, 1982. At present, there are 51 Contracting Parties to the Convention, including all EU Member States.

The ordinary allocation of the Council of Europe to the Bern Convention has progressively decreased over the years to the point that the functions of the Bern Convention cannot be assured without substantial voluntary contributions by the parties, but they are also in decline. It is therefore essential to establish a reliable source of finance for the Convention.

In accordance with Resolution No. 9 (2019) of the thirty-ninth meeting of the Standing Committee, adopted on 6 December 2019, on the financing of the Bern Convention on initiating the establishment of a new system of obligatory financial contributions by Parties, an inter-sessional expert working group was established to assist the Secretariat to present proposals for the inclusion of financial clauses by amending the articles of the Bern Convention and for the establishment of an Enlarged Partial Agreement, for consideration at the fortieth meeting of the Standing Committee.

Based on the outputs of the inter-sessional expert working group established at the 39th meeting of the Standing Committee, the 40th Standing Committee discussed two complementary proposals to address the financing issue. That meeting adopted a decision to support the establishment of an Enlarged Partial Agreement. With regard to the proposal to amend the Bern Convention to include financial clauses, following a statement by the Union and its Member States concerning the need for further internal discussions before it could take a decision, the Standing Committee agreed, with no objections, to postpone the decision on the possible amendment to the Convention until its 41st meeting.

As proposed to the 40th Standing Committee, the amendment to the Convention would introduce a mechanism to establish an obligatory contribution. However, the initial text did not make a distinction between the core budget and the programmatic budget, nor did it specify the scale of contributions to be applied. A revised proposal for the amendment will be negotiated in an inter-sessional working group, working throughout 2021 in the run-up to a decision at the 41st meeting of the Standing Committee. The Union should contribute actively in these negotiations.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

Introducing a system of obligatory contributions to this Convention would be consistent with the policy followed in other areas. Indeed, the Union is party to numerous multilateral environmental agreements, in the context of which it makes obligatory financial contributions based on the requirements of the agreement and/or the financial regulations adopted on the basis of provisions in the agreement. In the context of these agreements, a distinction is normally made between the core budget and the programmatic budget, with only the former subject to obligatory contributions. However, the proposed amendment to the Convention does not clarify that the mechanism to be established would follow this precedent. Neither does the proposed amendment specify the scale of contributions to be applied. In other multilateral environmental agreements, the Union contribution is normally set at not more than 2.5% of the overall contributions. It is therefore appropriate that the Union ensure that Parties will not be obliged to make contributions to the programmatic budget, and that the Union contribution cannot be established at more than 2.5% of the budget. This Recommendation is entirely aligned with and indeed flows from Council Decision 2020/1830, which established the Union position for the 40th Standing Committee of the Convention.

•Consistency with other Union policies

This proposal is consistent with Union objectives related to the environment and to international relations.

2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•Legal basis