98/746/EC: Council Decision of 21 December 1998 concerning the approval, on behalf of the Community, of amendments to Appendices II and III to the Berne Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats adopted at the 17th meeting of the Convention's Standing Committee
Date: 1998-12-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European convention, environmental protection, protected species, protection of animal life, protection of plant life, wildlife

L 358/114

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

31. 12. 98

COUNCIL DECISION

of 21 December 1998

concerning the approval, on behalf of the Community, of amendments to
Appendices II and III to the Berne Convention on the conservation of European
wildlife and natural habitats adopted at the 17th meeting of the Convention’s
Standing Committee

(98/746/EC)

Whereas the Community must approve the said amend-
ments to Appendices II and III to the Convention
adopted at the 17th meeting of the Standing Committee,
in accordance with Article 17 of the Convention,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Spongia agaricina,

The inclusion of the species Acipenser sturio, Puffinus
yelkouan, Phalacrocorax aristotelis (in the Mediterran-
ean) and Valencia leutourneuxi in Appendix II to the
Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife
and Natural Habitats, and of the species Hippospongia
communis,
Spongia officinalis,
Spongia zimocca, Antipathes sp. plur., Corallium rubrun,
Paracentrotus lividus, Homarus gammarus, Maja squi-
nado, Palinurus elephas, Scyllarides latus, Scyllarides
pigmaeus, Scyllarus arctus, Epinephelus marginatus,
Isurus oxyrinchus, Lamna nasus, Mobula mobular, Prio-
nace glauca, Raja alba, Scioena umbra, Squatina squa-
tina, and Umbrina cirrosa (all 22 species in the Mediter-
ranean) in Appendix III to that Convention is hereby
approved on behalf of the European Community.

Article 2

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal
of the European Communities.

Done at Brussels, 21 December 1998.

For the Council

The President

M. BARTENSTEIN

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 130s(1), the first
sentence of Article 228(2), and the first subparagraph of
Article 228(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment (2),

Whereas the European Community is a Contracting Party
to the Convention on the Conservation of European
Wildlife and Natural Habitats by virtue of Decision 82/
72/EEC (3);

to

thanks

support

Whereas,
from the
decisive
Community, four species were added to Appendix II to
the Convention and 22 to Appendix III to the Conven-
tion at
the Berne Convention
Standing Committee held in Strasbourg from 1 to 5
December 1997; whereas the Commission took part in
that meeting on behalf of the Community;

the 17th meeting of

Whereas two of those species are covered by Council
Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conserva-
tion of wild birds (4) and three of them are covered by
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the
conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora (5);

Whereas, in accordance with Article 17 of the Conven-
tion, any amendments to the Appendices to the Conven-
tion are to enter into force for all Contracting Parties,
with the exception of any which notify objections
pursuant to paragraph 3 of that Article, three months after
their adoption by the Standing Committee;

(1) OJ C 116, 16. 4. 1998, p. 24.
(2) OJ C 328, 26. 10. 1998, p. 81.
(3) OJ L 38, 10. 2. 1982, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1. Directive as last amended by

Directive 97/49/EC (OJ L 223, 13. 8. 1997, p. 9).

(5) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7. Directive as last amended by

Directive 97/62/EC (OJ L 305, 8. 11. 1997, p. 42).