Bucharest, 8 July 2026 - Agent Green publishes the memorandum submitted to the European Court of Auditors in the context of the ECA 2026+ audit on terrestrial protected natural areas, Natura 2000 sites and Romania’s primary and old-growth forests.
The document, entitled “Ineffective use of European Union funds and the systemic failure of Natura 2000 management, primary and old-growth forest protection and nature restoration in Romania”, asks for Romania’s situation to be examined as a major case study of the gap between spending European funds and achieving real ecological results.
Agent Green argues that Romania is one of the most important member states for conserving the European Union’s forest biodiversity, yet the country’s exceptional natural assets remain insufficiently identified, insufficiently strictly protected and subject to commercial exploitation, including within Natura 2000 sites.
The memorandum draws attention to major risks for the audit:
- European funds spent on deliverables that are not used operationally;
- inconsistent, unverifiable or incompatible data on habitats and species;
- management plans without concrete measures, budgets, responsible parties or indicators;
- conflicts of interest in the administration of protected areas;
- logging and forest management plans authorized without genuine appropriate assessments;
- monitoring conducted as a formality, with insufficient or non-public data;
- Natura 2000 status that has no real effect on the ground for potentially primary and old-growth forests.
Agent Green asks the European Court of Auditors to treat the Romanian audit as more than a check on the absorption of funds: it should be a critical test of European added value. If EU money finances documents and procedures that do not prevent habitat deterioration, restore nature or produce verifiable data, then Natura 2000 works in accounting terms but fails biologically.
Download the complete complaint submitted to the European Court of Auditors (PDF)
