European Commission response on Romania’s intention to de-designate protected areas
De-designating Natura 2000 protected areas or changing their boundaries in ways that result in their partial or total de-designation is not possible to accommodate economic activities such as building hydropower plants
Bucharest, Brussels – 15 December 2021
The letter sent today by the European Commission to Agent Green’s lawyer clarifies aspects of the intention of Romania’s Parliament and the National Agency for Protected Areas (ANANP) to change protected-area boundaries or even de-designate them entirely to facilitate economic investments.
The Commission draws attention to a series of precedents decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning attempts by Member States to de-designate Natura 2000 protected areas or change their boundaries. Such steps can therefore be lawful only in the following 3 circumstances:
• genuine scientific error in the designation of a protected area is proven
• if there are natural developments affecting habitats and species of European interest that cannot be prevented
• through the correct application of Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive (PDF in English)
The Commission concludes that de-designating Natura 2000 protected areas or changing their boundaries in ways that result in their partial or total de-designation is not possible to accommodate economic activities such as building hydropower plants.
“The European Commission’s swift and firm response sends a clear signal to Romania. The appetite for destruction and incompetence in Parliament and the Protected Areas Agency frighten me. The agency should be protecting, not destroying. Such officials disgrace our country and must be replaced immediately with specialists,” said Gabriel Păun, president of Agent Green.
See the European Commission’s full response sent to Agent Green today:
