Article 1 
1. This Directive relates to the conservation of all species of naturally occurring birds in the wild state in the European territory of the Member States to which the Treaty applies. It covers the protection, management and control of these species and lays down rules for their exploitation. 2. It shall apply to birds, their eggs, nests and habitats.
Article 2 
Member States shall take the requisite measures to maintain the population of the species referred to in Article 1 at a level which corresponds in particular to ecological, scientific and cultural requirements, while taking account of economic and recreational requirements, or to adapt the population of these species to that level.
Article 3 
1. In the light of the requirements referred to in Article 2, Member States shall take the requisite measures to preserve, maintain or re-establish a sufficient diversity and area of habitats for all the species of birds referred to in Article 1. 2. The preservation, maintenance and re-establishment of biotopes and habitats shall include primarily the following measures: (a) creation of protected areas; (b) upkeep and management in accordance with the ecological needs of habitats inside and outside the protected zones; (c) re-establishment of destroyed biotopes; (d) creation of biotopes.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal In June 2017, the Commission published a comprehensive Fitness Check evaluation on reporting and monitoring of EU environment policy 1 ('the Fitness Check evaluation') and drew up an action plan. Action 1 noted that some streamlining of reporting can best be achieved through amending the relevant legislative provisions. To implement this action, legislative amendments can be prepared one-by-one or grouped together in one proposal, which amends several pieces of environmental legislation in relation to their reporting provisions only (‘the alignment proposal’). This alignment proposal has been prepared on the basis of the evidence in the Fitness Check evaluation and other evaluations that were recently carried out on individual pieces of legislation. The alignment proposal’s objectives are to improve the evidence base for implementing EU policy, increase transparency for the public and simplify reporting with a view to reducing administrative burden. Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area The proposal forms part of the activities on better regulation in the field of environment policy. Consistent approaches on environmental reporting and monitoring were part of the Fitness Check evaluation. The proposal also contributes to priority objective 4, paragraph 65, of the 7th Environment Action Programme 2 , which requires that the public has access to clear environmental information at national level. It will also help the public have an overview of what is happening in the environmental field in Europe as a whole and will help national public authorities handle cross-border issues. To that end, the proposal makes cross-references and guarantees consistency with the requirements of Directive 2003/4/EC on access to environmental information 3 and of the Directive 2007/2/EC on spatial data 4 . A cross-cutting and comprehensive analysis of reporting obligations in all relevant pieces of environment legislation has been carried out in the context of the Fitness Check evaluation 5 . This also looked at the coherence of existing obligations. As a result, several pieces of legislation were identified 6 where the reporting obligations could be amended to streamline them. The proposal has been prepared to ensure a consistent approach across the various pieces of legislation by, as appropriate: · increasing transparency; · providing an evidence base for future evaluations; · simplifying and reducing administrative burden for the Member States and the Commission. It is also consistent with the Commission’s recent proposal to revise the Drinking Water Directive 7 , which factored in the results of the Fitness Check evaluation. 
Revised version (Article 3 ):
1. In the light of the requirements referred to in Article 2, Member States shall take the requisite measures to preserve, maintain or re-establish a sufficient diversity and area of habitats for all the species of birds referred to in Article 1.
Article 4 
1. The species mentioned in Annex I shall be the subject of special conservation measures concerning their habitat in order to ensure their survival and reproduction in their area of distribution. In this connection, account shall be taken of: (a) species in danger of extinction; (b) species vulnerable to specific changes in their habitat; (c) species considered rare because of small populations or restricted local distribution; (d) other species requiring particular attention for reasons of the specific nature of their habitat. Trends and variations in population levels shall be taken into account as a background for evaluations. Member States shall classify in particular the most suitable territories in number and size as special protection areas for the conservation of these species in the geographical sea and land area where this Directive applies. 2. Member States shall take similar measures for regularly occurring migratory species not listed in Annex I, bearing in mind their need for protection in the geographical sea and land area where this Directive applies, as regards their breeding, moulting and wintering areas and staging posts along their migration routes. To this end, Member States shall pay particular attention to the protection of wetlands and particularly to wetlands of international importance. 3. Member States shall send the Commission all relevant information so that it may take appropriate initiatives with a view to the coordination necessary to ensure that the areas provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 form a coherent whole which meets the protection requirements of these species in the geographical sea and land area where this Directive applies. 4. In respect of the protection areas referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid pollution or deterioration of habitats or any disturbances affecting the birds, in so far as these would be significant having regard to the objectives of this Article. Outside these protection areas, Member States shall also strive to avoid pollution or deterioration of habitats.
Article 5 
Without prejudice to Articles 7 and 9, Member States shall take the requisite measures to establish a general system of protection for all species of birds referred to in Article 1, prohibiting in particular: (a) deliberate killing or capture by any method; (b) deliberate destruction of, or damage to, their nests and eggs or removal of their nests; (c) taking their eggs in the wild and keeping these eggs even if empty; (d) deliberate disturbance of these birds particularly during the period of breeding and rearing, in so far as disturbance would be significant having regard to the objectives of this Directive; (e) keeping birds of species the hunting and capture of which is prohibited.
Article 6 
1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 2 and 3, Member States shall prohibit, for all the bird species referred to in Article 1, the sale, transport for sale, keeping for sale and the offering for sale of live or dead birds and of any readily recognisable parts or derivatives of such birds. 2. The activities referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be prohibited in respect of the species referred to in Annex III, Part A, provided that the birds have been legally killed or captured or otherwise legally acquired. 3. Member States may, for the species listed in Annex III, Part B, allow within their territory the activities referred to in paragraph 1, making provision for certain restrictions, provided that the birds have been legally killed or captured or otherwise legally acquired. Member States wishing to grant such authorisation shall first of all consult the Commission with a view to examining jointly with the latter whether the marketing of specimens of such species would result or could reasonably be expected to result in the population levels, geographical distribution or reproductive rate of the species being endangered throughout the Community. Should this examination prove that the intended authorisation will, in the view of the Commission, result in any one of the aforementioned species being thus endangered or in the possibility of their being thus endangered, the Commission shall forward a reasoned recommendation to the Member State concerned stating its opposition to the marketing of the species in question. Should the Commission consider that no such risk exists, it shall inform the Member State concerned accordingly. The Commission’s recommendation shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union . Member States granting authorisation pursuant to this paragraph shall verify at regular intervals that the conditions governing the granting of such authorisation continue to be fulfilled.
Article 7 
1. Owing to their population level, geographical distribution and reproductive rate throughout the Community, the species listed in Annex II may be hunted under national legislation. Member States shall ensure that the hunting of these species does not jeopardise conservation efforts in their distribution area. 2. The species referred to in Annex II, Part A may be hunted in the geographical sea and land area where this Directive applies. 3. The species referred to in Annex II, Part B may be hunted only in the Member States in respect of which they are indicated. 4. Member States shall ensure that the practice of hunting, including falconry if practised, as carried on in accordance with the national measures in force, complies with the principles of wise use and ecologically balanced control of the species of birds concerned and that this practice is compatible as regards the population of these species, in particular migratory species, with the measures resulting from Article 2. They shall see in particular that the species to which hunting laws apply are not hunted during the rearing season or during the various stages of reproduction. In the case of migratory species, they shall see in particular that the species to which hunting regulations apply are not hunted during their period of reproduction or during their return to their rearing grounds. Member States shall send the Commission all relevant information on the practical application of their hunting regulations.
Article 8 
1. In respect of the hunting, capture or killing of birds under this Directive, Member States shall prohibit the use of all means, arrangements or methods used for the large-scale or non-selective capture or killing of birds or capable of causing the local disappearance of a species, in particular the use of those listed in Annex IV, point (a). 2. Moreover, Member States shall prohibit any hunting from the modes of transport and under the conditions mentioned in Annex IV, point (b).
Article 9 
1. Member States may derogate from the provisions of Articles 5 to 8, where there is no other satisfactory solution, for the following reasons: (a) — in the interests of public health and safety, — in the interests of air safety, — to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water, — for the protection of flora and fauna; (b) for the purposes of research and teaching, of re-population, of re-introduction and for the breeding necessary for these purposes; (c) to permit, under strictly supervised conditions and on a selective basis, the capture, keeping or other judicious use of certain birds in small numbers. 2. The derogations referred to in paragraph 1 must specify: (a) the species which are subject to the derogations; (b) the means, arrangements or methods authorised for capture or killing; (c) the conditions of risk and the circumstances of time and place under which such derogations may be granted; (d) the authority empowered to declare that the required conditions obtain and to decide what means, arrangements or methods may be used, within what limits and by whom; (e) the controls which will be carried out. 3. Each year the Member States shall send a report to the Commission on the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 2. 4. On the basis of the information available to it, and in particular the information communicated to it pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall at all times ensure that the consequences of the derogations referred to in paragraph 1 are not incompatible with this Directive. It shall take appropriate steps to this end.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The proposal for a Council Directive adapting Directives 92/43/EEC, 2001/81/EC and 2009/147/EC in the field of environment is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011. Article 3 (3) of the Treaty of accession provides that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date. Article 3(4) of the Treaty of Accession enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia[2]. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession. Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts was adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts. Point 2 of the Final Act[3] refers to the political agreement on a set of adaptations to be adopted by the institutions which was reached between the Member States and Croatia in the context of the approval of the Treaty of Accession; the High Contracting Parties of the Treaty of Accession invited the Council and the Commission to adopt these adaptations before accession in accordance with Article 50 of the Act of Accession, completed and updated where necessary to take account of the evolution of the law of the Union. The present proposal for a Council Directive covers adaptations in the field of environment as regards firstly Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, secondly Directive 2001/81/EC on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants, and thirdly Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds, by reason of the accession of Croatia. These three Directives are regrouped together because they are the only Directives concerned by this technical adaptation exercise in the field of environment whose validity is not limited in time. These Directives fall within the field of environment – corresponding to negotiation chapter 27. This proposal is part of a series of proposals for Council directives by the Commission to the Council which regroup the technical adaptations to Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives corresponding to negotiation chapters into separate proposals for different Council directives. This structure is designed to facilitate the transposition of the directives concerned by Member States into their respective legal orders. The package of proposals for legal acts which the Commission has transmitted to the Council is composed of this series of proposals for Council directives on the one hand, as well as of a proposal for a single Council regulation which covers the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations and decisions as well as the relevant Council regulations and decisions on the other hand. This is in line with the approach which was taken in the past in view of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania[4]. It is foreseen that all the legal acts included in this package will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union at the same date. The present proposal and the other proposals included in this package will take into account technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 1 September 2012. The reasons for this are to provide sufficient time for the legislative processes involved on the one hand, and for the fulfilment of the ensuing transposition and notification obligations by Member States as regards directives on the other hand. Adaptations which may be necessary to the acquis published in the Official Journal of the European Union after 1 September 2012 will be foreseen in the relevant acts themselves or done at a later stage through the appropriate procedure. In addition, the Commission intends to informally provide a list of such legislation to Member States in early July 2013. 
Revised version (Article 9 ):
1. Member States may derogate from the provisions of Articles 5 to 8, where there is no other satisfactory solution, for the following reasons: (a) — in the interests of public health and safety, — in the interests of air safety, — to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water, — for the protection of flora and fauna; — in the interests of public health and safety, — in the interests of air safety, — to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water, — for the protection of flora and fauna; (b) for the purposes of research and teaching, of re-population, of re-introduction and for the breeding necessary for these purposes; (c) to permit, under strictly supervised conditions and on a selective basis, the capture, keeping or other judicious use of certain birds in small numbers. 2. The derogations referred to in paragraph 1 must specify: (a) the species which are subject to the derogations; (b) the means, arrangements or methods authorised for capture or killing; (c) the conditions of risk and the circumstances of time and place under which such derogations may be granted; (d) the authority empowered to declare that the required conditions obtain and to decide what means, arrangements or methods may be used, within what limits and by whom; (e) the controls which will be carried out. 3. Each year the Member States shall send a report to the Commission on the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 2. 4. On the basis of the information available to it, and in particular the information communicated to it pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall at all times ensure that the consequences of the derogations referred to in paragraph 1 are not incompatible with this Directive. It shall take appropriate steps to this end.
Article 10 
1. Member States shall encourage research and any work required as a basis for the protection, management and use of the population of all species of bird referred to in Article 1. Particular attention shall be paid to research and work on the subjects listed in Annex V. 2. Member States shall send the Commission any information required to enable it to take appropriate measures for the coordination of the research and work referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 11 
Member States shall see that any introduction of species of bird which do not occur naturally in the wild state in the European territory of the Member States does not prejudice the local flora and fauna. In this connection they shall consult the Commission.
Article 12 
1. Member States shall forward to the Commission every three years, starting from 7 April 1981, a report on the implementation of national provisions taken under this Directive. 2. The Commission shall prepare every three years a composite report based on the information referred to in paragraph 1. That part of the draft report covering the information supplied by a Member State shall be forwarded to the authorities of the Member State in question for verification. The final version of the report shall be forwarded to the Member States.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal In June 2017, the Commission published a comprehensive Fitness Check evaluation on reporting and monitoring of EU environment policy 1 ('the Fitness Check evaluation') and drew up an action plan. Action 1 noted that some streamlining of reporting can best be achieved through amending the relevant legislative provisions. To implement this action, legislative amendments can be prepared one-by-one or grouped together in one proposal, which amends several pieces of environmental legislation in relation to their reporting provisions only (‘the alignment proposal’). This alignment proposal has been prepared on the basis of the evidence in the Fitness Check evaluation and other evaluations that were recently carried out on individual pieces of legislation. The alignment proposal’s objectives are to improve the evidence base for implementing EU policy, increase transparency for the public and simplify reporting with a view to reducing administrative burden. Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area The proposal forms part of the activities on better regulation in the field of environment policy. Consistent approaches on environmental reporting and monitoring were part of the Fitness Check evaluation. The proposal also contributes to priority objective 4, paragraph 65, of the 7th Environment Action Programme 2 , which requires that the public has access to clear environmental information at national level. It will also help the public have an overview of what is happening in the environmental field in Europe as a whole and will help national public authorities handle cross-border issues. To that end, the proposal makes cross-references and guarantees consistency with the requirements of Directive 2003/4/EC on access to environmental information 3 and of the Directive 2007/2/EC on spatial data 4 . A cross-cutting and comprehensive analysis of reporting obligations in all relevant pieces of environment legislation has been carried out in the context of the Fitness Check evaluation 5 . This also looked at the coherence of existing obligations. As a result, several pieces of legislation were identified 6 where the reporting obligations could be amended to streamline them. The proposal has been prepared to ensure a consistent approach across the various pieces of legislation by, as appropriate: · increasing transparency; · providing an evidence base for future evaluations; · simplifying and reducing administrative burden for the Member States and the Commission. It is also consistent with the Commission’s recent proposal to revise the Drinking Water Directive 7 , which factored in the results of the Fitness Check evaluation. 
Revised version (Article 12 ):
1. Member States shall forward to the Commission every six years, in the same year as the report drawn up pursuant to Article 17(1) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC ( 1 ), a report on the implementation of the measures taken under this Directive and the main impacts of these measures. That report shall be made accessible to the public and shall include in particular information concerning the status and trends of wild bird species protected by this Directive, the threats and pressures on them, the conservation measures taken for them and the contribution of the network of Special Protection Areas to the objectives laid out in Article 2 of this Directive. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish the format of the report referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The format of that report shall be aligned with the format of the report referred to in Article 17(1) of Directive 92/43/EEC. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16a(2) of this Directive. 2. The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, shall prepare and publish, every six years, a composite report based on the information referred to in paragraph 1. at part of the draft report covering the information supplied by a Member State shall be forwarded to the authorities of the Member State in question for verification. The final version of the report shall be forwarded to the Member States.
Article 13 
Application of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive may not lead to deterioration in the present situation as regards the conservation of the species of birds referred to in Article 1.
Article 14 
Member States may introduce stricter protective measures than those provided for under this Directive.
Article 15 
Such amendments as are necessary for adapting Annexes I and V to technical and scientific progress shall be adopted. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 16(2).
Article 16 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee for Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 17 
Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
Article 18 
Directive 79/409/EEC, as amended by the acts listed in Annex VI, Part A, is repealed, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex VI, Part B. References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex VII.
Article 19 
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 20 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.