Fitness check conference outcomes: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/fitness_check/conference_en.htm
The draft document on the consultation of the fitness check on the Habitat & Birds Directive
Commentary from IUCN 25 November 2015 | News story
The EU Nature Directives are effective, coherent, relevant and fit for purpose, but insufficient implementation remains a serious issue, and must be stepped up for the EU to meet its 2020 biodiversity targets. This was the overall message delivered by a broad and diverse range of stakeholders and government representatives in response to the European Commission’s findings on the ‘Fitness Check’ of the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives, at a high-level event in Brussels on 20 November, 2015. The audience heard from EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella and from four high-level panels which discussed the criteria used to evaluate the Directives: effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance/EU added value.
The results of the public consultation on the Directives, conducted by the European Commission earlier this year, indicated the extremely high support for maintaining the EU Nature Directives, from both stakeholders and the general public.
These results were also welcomed by the overwhelming majority of speakers and audience members, who concluded that the EU Nature Directives are indeed fit for purpose. Government representatives from Luxembourg, Germany and Slovakia also emphasized that in their view, the Directives should be maintained in their current form, and the Dutch government also concluded that the Directives were fit for purpose. Luc Bas, Director of the IUCN European Regional Office, reminded participants that IUCN upholds a Union-wide resolution on non-regression in environmental legislation and thus warns about any weakening of the nature legislation.
To read more go to:
http://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/europe/european_union/?22198/Stakeholders-agree-EU-Nature-Directives-are-fit-for-purpose