Tuesday, May 2, 2006
< EU holds fire on spring hunting >
by Ivan Camilleri in Brussels
Government yet to convince European Commission
The European Commission has given the Maltese authorities more time to
justify the need for spring hunting in Malta, still unconvinced by the case being made by the government. The move comes after the Commission analysed a report submitted by Malta last November to justify having a derogation from EU law, which bans hunting in spring.
The island has now been asked to submit more data so that a final decision
on the matter can be taken by June, when originally the decision had to be
taken by the end of March. Malta is the only member state in the EU where hunting of quails and turtle dove is still permitted during spring. This is possible because the Maltese government avails itself of the possibility of a
derogation under Article 9 of the Birds' Directive.
However, the derogation is granted under certain conditions which have to be
justified.
According to its spokesman, the Commission is not yet convinced that there
really is the need for the derogation.
"In their report, the Maltese authorities claimed that the opportunities in
autumn were minimal and hence that a spring derogation was justifiable,
there being 'no other satisfactory solution' in the terms of Article 9 of the
Birds Directive," the spokesman said.
"The Commission asked if this claim of absence of opportunities in autumn
was supported by hunting statistics. The Maltese authorities provided data from the carnet de chasse statistics for autumn 2004.
"In the Commission's view these figures do not support the case that only
minimal opportunities exist. In view of the significance of this case, the
Commission has given the Maltese authorities the opportunity to present data
from other years to see if 2004 was in any way an abnormal season or if it
was genuinely representative. "The Maltese authorities have promised this
information in the coming weeks and the Commission will make its final
assessment on receipt of this information and certainly before its next
quarterly meeting on implementation matters due for June 2006."
The Commission had already sounded the alarm bells on Malta's spring hunting
derogation. In February, Commission officials had told the Petitions
Committee of the European Parliament that from preliminary analysis of the Maltese report, it seemed that the derogation was not in conformity with the Birds Directive.
Sources close to the Commission told The Times that the Commission agreed to give more time to the Maltese authorities in view of the new legislation put
in place last March, just a day before the opening of the new hunting season.
The legislation, which is currently being analysed by the EU, was seen as a
"positive signal" that Malta was moving towards coming in line with European
hunting laws.
The EU spokesman confirmed that the Commission services are reviewing the
final text of the new law in order to make sure that it adequately addresses the various areas where EU legislation has not been sufficiently transposed into Maltese legislation. "Previously, the Commission had completed a conformity study of the nature legislation in Malta, as a result of which areas of non-compliance had been identified. The Commission considers the correct
implementation and application of EU environmental law to be a priority
concern.
"This includes the correct transposition of the Birds and Habitats
directives and compliance with the transitional agreement for the trapping of finches as set out under the Accession Treaty.
"Since then, Malta has officially transmitted its new legislation and the
report on the transitional agreement for trapping. As said, we are reviewing the new hunting law and we believe that the report on trapping represents real progress," the spokesman said.
As well as that of shooting, the issue of trapping is being given a lot of
importance by the EU. During the accession negotiations, Malta had
negotiated a transition period on the Birds Directive allowing the capture of certain bird species with clap nets to continue until the end of 2008, in accordance with certain intermediate targets set by the Commission.
In order to monitor the progress in this sector, the Maltese government had
to report on the transitional measures related to bird trapping every year. The
first such report was received by the Commission on March 29. Asked to
comment on this report, the Commission's spokesman said that albeit with some delay, it represented real progress and demonstrated the commitment of the Maltese authorities to respect their engagement.
___________________________________________
This article may also be viewed at
http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=222691
< EU holds fire on spring hunting >
by Ivan Camilleri in Brussels
Government yet to convince European Commission
The European Commission has given the Maltese authorities more time to
justify the need for spring hunting in Malta, still unconvinced by the case being made by the government. The move comes after the Commission analysed a report submitted by Malta last November to justify having a derogation from EU law, which bans hunting in spring.
The island has now been asked to submit more data so that a final decision
on the matter can be taken by June, when originally the decision had to be
taken by the end of March. Malta is the only member state in the EU where hunting of quails and turtle dove is still permitted during spring. This is possible because the Maltese government avails itself of the possibility of a
derogation under Article 9 of the Birds' Directive.
However, the derogation is granted under certain conditions which have to be
justified.
According to its spokesman, the Commission is not yet convinced that there
really is the need for the derogation.
"In their report, the Maltese authorities claimed that the opportunities in
autumn were minimal and hence that a spring derogation was justifiable,
there being 'no other satisfactory solution' in the terms of Article 9 of the
Birds Directive," the spokesman said.
"The Commission asked if this claim of absence of opportunities in autumn
was supported by hunting statistics. The Maltese authorities provided data from the carnet de chasse statistics for autumn 2004.
"In the Commission's view these figures do not support the case that only
minimal opportunities exist. In view of the significance of this case, the
Commission has given the Maltese authorities the opportunity to present data
from other years to see if 2004 was in any way an abnormal season or if it
was genuinely representative. "The Maltese authorities have promised this
information in the coming weeks and the Commission will make its final
assessment on receipt of this information and certainly before its next
quarterly meeting on implementation matters due for June 2006."
The Commission had already sounded the alarm bells on Malta's spring hunting
derogation. In February, Commission officials had told the Petitions
Committee of the European Parliament that from preliminary analysis of the Maltese report, it seemed that the derogation was not in conformity with the Birds Directive.
Sources close to the Commission told The Times that the Commission agreed to give more time to the Maltese authorities in view of the new legislation put
in place last March, just a day before the opening of the new hunting season.
The legislation, which is currently being analysed by the EU, was seen as a
"positive signal" that Malta was moving towards coming in line with European
hunting laws.
The EU spokesman confirmed that the Commission services are reviewing the
final text of the new law in order to make sure that it adequately addresses the various areas where EU legislation has not been sufficiently transposed into Maltese legislation. "Previously, the Commission had completed a conformity study of the nature legislation in Malta, as a result of which areas of non-compliance had been identified. The Commission considers the correct
implementation and application of EU environmental law to be a priority
concern.
"This includes the correct transposition of the Birds and Habitats
directives and compliance with the transitional agreement for the trapping of finches as set out under the Accession Treaty.
"Since then, Malta has officially transmitted its new legislation and the
report on the transitional agreement for trapping. As said, we are reviewing the new hunting law and we believe that the report on trapping represents real progress," the spokesman said.
As well as that of shooting, the issue of trapping is being given a lot of
importance by the EU. During the accession negotiations, Malta had
negotiated a transition period on the Birds Directive allowing the capture of certain bird species with clap nets to continue until the end of 2008, in accordance with certain intermediate targets set by the Commission.
In order to monitor the progress in this sector, the Maltese government had
to report on the transitional measures related to bird trapping every year. The
first such report was received by the Commission on March 29. Asked to
comment on this report, the Commission's spokesman said that albeit with some delay, it represented real progress and demonstrated the commitment of the Maltese authorities to respect their engagement.
___________________________________________
This article may also be viewed at
http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=222691
