Ergänzung der Anhänge zur FFH-Richtlinie auf Grund der EU-Osterweiterung

Amendments to habitats Directive Annexes caused by eastward enlargement of the European Union

Stuttgart

2004

3 Abb., 5 Lit. Ang.

Artikel aus einer Zeitschrift

8630

200109974

Enlargement of the European Union will make it easier to attain the objective of maintaining biological diversity through-out Europe by building the Natura 2000 transboundary network. This applies especially to endangered habitat types and species and to such species which require large areas or are migratory. Upon their accession on 1 May 2004, the new Member States of the European Union (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) have an obligation to propose Sites of Community Interest for Natura 2000 and to ransmit them to the European Commission. The accession countries have made, in most cases, considerable efforts to prepare implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directives. Good examples include intensive habitat and species mapping projects and subsequent site selection in Poland, or the current work on prototypes and first management plans for sites in Estonia and Lithuania. The Member States of the former EU 15 being more advanced in their process of implementing the Habitats Directive will have to check carefully the presence in their territories of the newly added habitat types and species. It remains to be seen which new obligations may result with respect to data corrections in standard data forms, possible new site proposals, surveillance (Art. 11), reporting (Art 17) or the strict species protection regime provided for by Art. 12 ff.