Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals from various parties to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals for amendments to the Appendices of the Convention at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties
Date: 2014-09-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: international convention, protection of animal life, wildlife













EUR-Lex - 52014PC0544 - EN











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52014PC0544

Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals from various parties to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals for amendments to the Appendices of the Convention at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties /* COM/2014/0544 final - 2014/0252 (NLE) */









EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The Convention on the conservation of
migratory species of wild animals (also known as the CMS or Bonn Convention)
aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout
their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of
the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of
wildlife and habitats on a global scale. The European Union has been a Party to
the CMS since 1 November 1983[1].
2. The migratory species to be conserved
are listed in Appendices I (endangered species) and II (species to be the
subjects of agreements) to the Convention. Article III
to the Convention stipulates that Appendix I shall list
migratory species which are endangered and provides that Parties that are Range
States of the species concerned shall endeavour to take various conservation
measures and shall prohibit the taking of animals belonging to such species. Article
IV to the Convention stipulates that Appendix II shall list migratory species
which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international
agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a
conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international
cooperation that could be achieved by an international agreement.
3. The Conference of the Parties is the
decision-making body of the Convention with powers to assess the conservation
status of migratory species and, subsequently, to amend Appendices I and II to
the Convention.
4. In accordance with Article XI of the
Convention, proposals for amendment may be made by any Party. An amendment to
the Appendices enters into force for all Parties ninety days after the meeting
of the Conference of the Parties at which it is adopted, except for those
Parties which make a reservation.
5. The eleventh meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention will take place in Quito (Ecuador) from 4 to 9 November 2014. For this meeting, the Union proposed to amend Appendix
I to the Convention to add the Mediterranean
subpopulation of Ziphius cavirostris, and the bird species Coracias
garrulus, and to amend Appendix II to the Convention to add three species
of thresher sharks, namely Alopias superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus and Alopias
pelagicus.
6. Other Parties to the Convention have
submitted proposals to amend Appendices I and II to the Convention for the
species Ursus maritimus, all subspecies of the Panthera leo, Kobus kob,
Eudorcas rufifrons, Otis tarda, Calidris pusilla, calidris tenuirostris,
Cardellina canadiensis, Carcharhinus falciformis, Sphyrna lewini, Sphyrna
mokarran, Anoxypristis cuspidate, Pristis clavata, Pristis pectinata, Pristis
zijsron, Pristis pristis, Mobula mobular, Mobula japonica, Mobula
thurstoni, Mobula tarapacana, Mobula eregoodootenkee, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula
hypostoma, Mobula rochebrunei and Mobula munkiana, Manta alfredi and
Anguilla Anguilla. 
7. The Union should support all proposals
because they are science-based, in line with Union legislation and with the Union's commitment to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity. Adding
these species to Appendix I or II to the Convention, as proposed, would not
require any change in Union law;
8. It is therefore necessary for the
Council to take a decision for the purpose of establishing the position to be
adopted on behalf of the Union with a view to the eleventh meeting of the
Conference of the Parties with regard to proposals for amendment.
2014/0252 (NLE)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL DECISION
establishing the position to be adopted on
behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals from various parties to
the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals for
amendments to the Appendices of the Convention at the eleventh meeting of the
Conference of the Parties 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1), in conjunction with Article 218(9),
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)       Pursuant to Council
Decision 82/461/EEC of 24 June 1982[2]
the Union is a Party to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species
of wild animals ("the Convention"). The Conference of the Parties is
the decision-making body of the Convention and the powers conferred upon it
include the capacity to assess the conservation status of migratory species and
subsequently to amend Appendices I and II to the Convention which list the
species to be conserved;
(2)       In accordance with Article
XI of the Convention, an amendment to the Appendices enters into force for all
Parties ninety days after the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which
it is adopted, except for those Parties which make a reservation;
(3)       The eleventh meeting of
the Conference of the Parties is to take place in Quito (Ecuador) from 4 to 9 November 2014;
(4)       With a view to that
meeting, the Union submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention a proposal to
amend Appendix I to the Convention to include the species Coracias garrulus and
the Mediterranean subpopulation of the species Ziphius
cavirostris and to amend Appendix II to the
Convention to include the species Alopias
superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus and Alopias
pelagicus[3];
(5)       Other Parties to the
Convention have also submitted proposals to amend Appendices I and II to the
Convention;
(6)       The Union should support all
proposals because they are science-based, in line with Union legislation and
with the Union's commitment to international cooperation for the protection of
biodiversity in accordance with Article 5 of the UN Convention on Biological
Diversity and decisions taken at the Conference of the Parties under that
Convention, in particular with the global target agreed at the Tenth meeting:
"By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and
their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been
improved and sustained";
(7)       The whale Ziphius
cavirostris, is included in Annex IV of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21
May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora[4]. Hence adding this
species to the Appendix I to the Convention would not require any change in
Union law;
(8)       The mammals Ursus
maritimus, all subspecies of the Panthera leo other than Panthera leo persica,
and Kobus kob do not occur in the EU. Hence adding these species to
Appendix II to the Convention would not require any change in Union law. 
(9)       The mammals Panthera
leo persica and Eudorcas rufifrons do not occur in the EU.
Hence adding these species to Appendix I would not require any change in Union
law. 
(10)     The bird Otis tarda
is included in Annex I to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds[5]. Hence adding this
species to Appendix I to the Convention would not require any change in Union
law. The middle-European population of the Otis tarda is already
included in Appendix I to the Convention and covered by the Memorandum of
Understanding on the Conservation and Management of the Middle-European
Population of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) to which 12 Member States
are a party. In addition, the entire global population is already included in
Appendix II to the Convention;
(11)     The birds Calidris
pusilla, calidris tenuirostris and Cardellina canadiensis, do
not occur in the EU except for overseas territories which fall outside the
scope of the Directive 2009/147/EC. Hence adding these species to Appendix I
and II to the Convention would not require any change in Union law. 
(12)     The bird Coracias
garrulus is included in Annex I to Directive 2009/147/EC. Hence adding this
species to Appendix I to the Convention would not require any change in Union
law. The conservation needs are most pressing for the European population of
this species;
(13)     The populations of the
sharks Alopias superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus, Alopias
pelagicus, Carcharhinus falciformis, Sphyrna lewini and Sphyrna mokarran fall
under the European Union's common fisheries policy (CFP) which offers the
appropriate instruments for the Union to contribute to managing their
protection when adding these species to Appendix II to the Convention. 
(14)     The saw fishes Anoxypristis
cuspidate, Pristis clavata, Pristis pectinata, Pristis zijsron, Pristis
pristis, the mobula rays Mobula mobular, Mobula japonica, Mobula thurstoni,
Mobula tarapacana, Mobula eregoodootenkee, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula hypostoma,
Mobula rochebrunei and Mobula munkiana fall under the CFP which offers the
appropriate instruments for the EU to contribute to managing their protection
when adding these species to Appendix I and II to the Convention. 
(15)     The reef manta Manta
alfredi falls under the CFP which offers the appropriate instruments for the
EU to contribute to manage its protection when adding this species to Appendix I
and II to the Convention. The species has been identified as a species separate
from the Manta birostris shortly after that species had been added to
Appendices I and II to the Convention in 2011.
(16)     The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a fish species falling under the CFP which offers the
appropriate instruments for the EU to contribute to managing its protection. Council
Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing measures for the
recovery of the stock of European eel[6]
provides for measures to protect the European eel, including the possibility
for Member States to develop Eel Management Plans jointly with countries
outside the Union with whom they share eel habitats. Article IV of the
Convention encourages international agreements for putting in place protection
measures and thereby also encourages agreements on joint Eel Management Plans
pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007. Article IV of the Convention
may also encourage further international agreements which for EU Member States
may not result in lower protection than is required under Council Regulation
(EC) No 1100/2007. Article XII(3) of the Convention allows parties to adopt
stricter domestic measures concerning the conservation of migratory species
listed in Appendices I and II. Furthermore, including Anguilla anguilla
in Appendix II to the Convention would be consistent with the inclusion of this
species in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora following the Community's proposal in 2007 and
Decision of 25 June 2014 by the Commission established by Article 10.1 of the
Convention for the Protection of the marine Environment of the North-East
Atlantic (the ‘OSPAR Convention') to protect the species as it is considered
particularly vulnerable in the North East Atlantic Ocean.[7] A new international
agreement under the CMS for this species is not foreseen. Conservation measures
would rather consist in concerted actions that would benefit the conservation
of the species.
(17)     To the extent that the
Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals falls both
within the competence of the Union and the competence of the Member States, the
Commission and the Member States should cooperate closely for the adoption of
the amendments to the Appendices of the Convention, aiming for unity in the
international representation of the Union.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
At the eleventh meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of
wild animals, the Commission shall present the following position of the Union in respect of the proposals to amend Appendices I and II to the Convention:
(1)                   
the Commission is hereby authorised to support
the addition to Appendix I of the following species:
(mammals)
(a)         
Ziphius cavirostris
(b)         
Panthera leo persica
(c)         
Eudorcas rufifrons
(birds)
(d)         
Otis tarda
(e)         
Calidris pusilla
(f)           
Calidris tenuirostris
(g)         
Coracias garrulus
(fish)
(h)         
Anoxypristis cuspidate, Pristis clavata,
Pristis pectinata, Pristis zijsron, Pristis pristis
(i)           
Mobula mobular, Mobula japonica, Mobula
thurstoni, Mobula tarapacana, Mobula eregoodootenkee, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula
hypostoma, Mobula rochebrunei, Mobula munkiana
(j)           
Manta alfredi;
(2)                   
the Commission is hereby authorised to support
the addition to Appendix II of the following species
(mammals)
(a)         
Ursus maritimus
(b)         
Panthera leo (all subspecies other than Panthera
leo persica) 
(c)         
Kobus kob leucotis
(birds)
(d)         
Cardellina canadiensis
(fish)
(e)         
Anguilla
anguilla 
(f)           
Alopias superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus, Alopias
pelagicus
(g)         
Anoxypristis cuspidate, Pristis clavata,
Pristis pectinata, Pristis zijsron, Pristis pristis
(h)         
Carcharhinus falciformis
(i)           
Sphyrna lewini and Sphyrna mokarran
(j)           
Mobula mobular, Mobula japonica, Mobula
thurstoni, Mobula tarapacana, Mobula eregoodootenkee, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula
hypostoma, Mobula rochebrunei, Mobula munkiana
(k)         
Manta alfredi.
Article 2
This Decision is adressed to the Commission.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                       For
the Council
                                                                       The
President
[1]               Council Decision 82/461/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the
conclusion of the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild
animals, OJ L 210, 19.7.1982, p. 10.
[2]               Council Decision 82/461/EEC
of 24 June 1982 on the conclusion of the Convention on the conservation of
migratory species of wild animals, (OJ L 210, 19.7.1982,
p. 10).
[3]               Council Decision of 5 June 2014 authorising the
European Commission to submit, on behalf of the European Union, a proposal for
amendments to the Appendices to the Convention on the conservation of migratory
species of wild animals with a view to the eleventh meeting of the Conference
of the Parties
[4]               OJ L206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.
[5]               OJ L20, 26.1.2010, p. 7.
[6]               OJ L 248, 22.9.2007, p.17.
[7]               Decision adopted at the OSPAR Commission meeting of
23 to 27 June 2014.