WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2715/97 by Undine-Uta BLOCH von BLOTTNITZ to the Commission. Treaty infringement procedings - wild birds directive
Date: 1997-09-01
Institutions: BLOCH VON BLOTTNITZ, European Parliament
Subjects: EU aid, bird, environmental protection, exchange of information, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure, protection of animals, quality of the environment, wildlife

C 102/102

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 4. 98

(98/C 102/147)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2715/97

by Undine-Uta Bloch von Blottnitz (V) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Treaty infringement procedings › wild birds directive

In its answer to Question E-1963/97 (1) the Commission draws attention to Member States which have not or not
yet fully respected their obligations for implementation of Directive 79/409 (2).

1.

Exactly which Member States are involved and what stage have proceedings reached in each case?

2.
In  which  exact  areas  are  there  shortcomings  in  the  implementation  of  the  wild  birds  directive  in  the
individual Member States, how many special protection areas have already been designated in which locations
and what does the Commission think future developments will be?

3. What practical actions to improve the situation of wild birds in Europe are proposed in the (cid:145)action plans for
globally threatened bird species(cid:146) referred to in the Commission answer?

(1)  OJ C 45, 10.2.1998, p. 130.
(2)  OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(7 October 1997)

For information on infringement procedures concerning Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds,
the Honourable Member is referred to the fourteenth annual report on monitoring Community law (1996) (1).

There are now more than 1600 special protection areas, covering a surface area greater than 100 000 km2, which
have been classified by the Member States. However, the Commission is of the view that only Denmark and
Belgium have largely fulfilled this obligation under the Directive. The other Member States still need to classify
further areas in order to ensure a coherent network of protected areas for the bird species listed in Annex I of the
Directive as well as for migratory bird species. The Commission continues to monitor progress in this regard and
regularly produces an updated inventory of the special protection areas notified to it by the Member States. The
most recent inventory, published in June 1997 and available to the public, is sent separately to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

The action plans for globally threatened bird species are European framework plans which provide an up to date
scientific  assessment  of  their  status,  ecology,  threats  and  the  current  conservation  measures  for  them.  They
define objectives and recommend conservation actions for each Member State where these species occur. These
measures differ considerably from one species to another. They relate to actions under policy and legislation,
species and habitat protection, monitoring and research, public awareness and training.

(1)  COM(97) 299 final.

(98/C 102/148)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2716/97

by Horst Schnellhardt (PPE) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Approval of low output radio sets pursuant to standard I-ETS 300440

Is the Commission aware that the United Kingdom and France have not recognized the European Union

1.
standard I-ETS 300440 for low output radio sets for private radio applications in the ISM frequency band?