Nature: Commission decides to refer PORTUGAL back to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with previous judgment on conservation of Natura 2000 sites

European Commission - Press release Nature: Commission decides to refer PORTUGAL back to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with previous judgment on conservation of Natura 2000 sites Brussels, 7 February 2024 Today, the European Commission decided to refer Portugal back to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with the Court's judgment of 5 September 2019 in case C 290/18. In its judgment of 5 September 2019, the Court of Justice ruled that Portugal had failed to designate 61 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), as required by the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC). The Court of Justice also declared that Portugal had failed to adopt the necessary conservation measures for those sites. Following the judgment of the Court, Portugal formally designated the 61 sites concerned as SACs by adopting a dedicated decree. However, this designation is not sufficient to comply with the judgment as Portugal also needs to adopt conservation objectives and measures to comply with the judgment. Therefore, the Commission has decided to refer this case back to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This second referral to the Court may result in financial penalties for the time elapsed from the first judgment until achieving compliance. Background The Habitats Directive is a key piece of European biodiversity protection legislation. In line with the EU Biodiversity...