C-67/99, Commission v. Ireland
| Author | European Commission |
| Pages | 83-85 |
Page 83
Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 11 September 2001. - Commission of the European Communities v Ireland. - Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Directive 92/43/EEC - Conservation of natural habitats - Conservation of wild fauna and flora - Article 4(1) - List of sites - Site information. http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61999J0067:EN:HTML
With regard to the obligation to transmit the site list referred to in Article 4(1), first subparagraph, of the Habitats Directive, the Commission points out that each Member State's contribution to the setting up of a coherent European ecological network depends on the representation on its territory of the natural habitat types and species' habitats listed in Annexes I and II to the Directive respectively. It is clear from the combined provisions of Article 4(1) of and Annex III to the Directive that Member States enjoy a certain margin of discretion when selecting sites for inclusion in the list. The exercise of that discretion is, however, in the Commission's view, subject to compliance with the following three conditions:
- only criteria of a scientific nature may guide the choice of the sites to be proposed;
- the sites proposed must provide a geographical cover which is homogeneous and representative of the entire territory of each Member State, with a view to ensuring the coherence and balance of the resulting network. The list to be submitted by each Member State must therefore reflect the ecological variety (and, in the case of species, the genetic variety) of the natural habitats and species present within its territory;
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- the list must be complete, that is to say, each Member State must propose a number of sites which will ensure sufficient representation of all the natural habitat types listed in Annex I and all the species' habitats listed in Annex II to the Directive which exist on its territory.
So far as the Irish national list is concerned, the Commission notes that, when the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired on 19 February 1998, Ireland had forwarded to it a list of 207 sites, but that this was no more than an indicative list. When the Commission brought its action before the Court on 25 February 1999, Ireland had not confirmed this indicative list but had merely sent a partial definitive list of 48 sites and related information, and at the date of the hearing, 18 January 2001, Ireland had transmitted in total a list of 362 sites. The Commission states that it instituted the present proceedings with a view to securing a declaration that the Irish national list was manifestly inadequate, and that such inadequacy far exceeded the margin of discretion given to Member States. Not only is such inadequacy evident with regard to the situation existing when the period set in the reasoned opinion expired, but also a whole series of provisos concerning the list of 362 sites still remained to be formulated. The Irish national list, the Commission concludes, did not therefore meet the criteria set out in Article 4(1), read in conjunction with Annex III thereto.
The Irish Government accepts that, when the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired, it had not forwarded to the Commission any list of sites capable of being designated as SACs. It argues that this delay was attributable to domestic difficulties. In order to obtain approval of the population for the ambitious objectives pursued by the Directive, it was considered necessary to launch a vast programme of public consultation. It points out that the 362 Irish sites officially notified up to January 2001 are protected under Irish law, which goes much further than what is required under the Directive.
Although it follows from the rules governing the procedure for identifying sites eligible for designation as SACs, set out in Article 4(1), that Member States have a margin of discretion when making their site proposals, the fact none the less remains, as the Commission has noted, that they must do so in compliance with the criteria laid down by the Directive. It should be noted in this regard that, in order to produce a draft list of sites of Community importance, capable of leading to the creation of a coherent European ecological network of SACs, the Commission must have available an exhaustive list of the sites which, at national level, have an ecological interest which is relevant from the point of view of the Directive's objective of conserving natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. To that end, that list is drawn up on the basis of the criteria laid down in Annex III (Stage 1) to the Directive. Only in that way, moreover, is it possible to realise the objective, in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1), of maintaining or restoring the natural habitat types and the species' habitats concerned at a favourable conservation status in their natural range, which may lie across one or more frontiers inside the Community. It follows from Article 1(e) and (i), read in conjunction with Article 2(1) thereof, that the favourable conservation status of a natural habitat or a species must be assessed in relation to the entire European territory of the Member States to which the Treaty applies. It is also necessary to recall that the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation in that Member State as it stood at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion. The Court cannot therefore take account of any subsequent changes. When the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired on 19 February 1998, the content of the Irish national list sent to the Commission was manifestly inadequate, going well beyond the margin of discretion available to Member States for the purpose of drawing up the list of sites mentioned in Article 4(1), first subparagraph. In accordance with the case-law cited in the preceding paragraph of the present judgment, the lists of sites communicated to the Commission after the expiry of that period are irrelevant for purposes of the present action. It must therefore be concluded that, by failing to transmit to the Commission, within the prescribed period, the list of sites mentioned in the first subparagraph of Article 4(1), Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive.
With regard to the obligation to transmit information on the sites eligible for designation as SACs, the Irish Government acknowledges that it had not sent that information by the expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion, but at the same time argues that, since the format was not adopted until December 1996 and the Commission insisted that the information in question be transmitted by means of that format, it was not possible to complete this important work within the set period.
The Commission submits that the obligation to transmit the site information had to be met before 11 June 1995. Even if certain Member States which already had the list of proposed sites and relevant information before 11 June 1995 wished to await adoption of the format, they could, after the format was notified on 19 December 1996, rapidly have incorporated that information in the format and forwarded it to the Commission. The Commission adds that, in order to take account of the late adoption of the format, it extended the pre-litigation procedure by addressing an additional letter of formal notice to Ireland on 11 July 1997, thus well after the datePage 85 on which the format was notified. The Irish authorities were therefore fully in a position to meet their obligation to transmit the information on each site. When the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired on 19 February 1998, Ireland had not sent to the Commission the information on the sites to be proposed.
It is necessary first to point out that, even though the Commission had initially sent to the Irish Government a letter of formal notice on 24 April 1996, that is to say, before the format was notified, it sent to the Irish Government a new letter of formal notice, following notification of the format, giving it a new period within which to comply with Article 4(1), second subparagraph. Next, it must be noted that, following notification of the Directive on 10 June 1992, the Member States were aware which types of information they would be required to collate for purposes of transmission within three years of that notification, that is to say, by 11 June 1995. They also knew that this information had to be provided on the basis of the format once it had been drawn up by the Commission. Article 4(1), second subparagraph, expressly states that the information to be transmitted, in a format established by the Commission, must include a map of the site, its name, location, extent and the data resulting from application of the criteria specified in Annex III (Stage 1). The period which the Commission gave to the Irish Government for meeting its obligation to include on the format the site information, which it was required to have at its disposal prior to 11 June 1995, must consequently be regarded as reasonable. From 19 December 1996, the date on which the format was notified, to 19 February 1998, when the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired, the Irish Government benefited from a period of more than one year to comply with that specific obligation. Since the Irish Government acknowledges that, when the period laid down in the reasoned opinion expired, it had not transmitted to the Commission, on the basis of the format, the information on the sites to be proposed, it must be held that, by failing to transmit to the Commission, within the period prescribed, the information relating to the sites on the list mentioned in the first subparagraph of Article 4(1), pursuant to the second subparagraph of that Article, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive.
