91997E2477

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2477/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (16 July 1997)

Subject: Natura 2000

1. Are the lists and information about the Natura 2000 sites to be made public? If they are (as we hope), how is the Commission going to protect endangered species from being threatened by illegal commercial interests and souvenir hunters?

2. One of the main problems is that landowners at local level are afraid that getting on the Natura 2000 list means a dead hand over their property. How is the Commission going to explain to the local level how the directive works?

3. The budget line for LIFE was allocated only MECU 450, even though Parliament went down from its original demand for MECU 800 in the first reading to MECU 600. As a compromise, it was decided that the budget line would be revised in 1997 in order to see if more money was needed, and in that case discuss the budget again. How is the actual demand on the budget line, and is the Commission considering how more resources should be made available for LIFE?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (11 September 1997)

1. The Natura 2000 network will be set up in three phases. The Member States will propose sites; the Commission will adopt the list of sites of Community importance, in agreement with the Member States; the Member States will designate these sites as special areas of conservation. During the first phase, now under way, it falls to each biogeographical region to determine the list of selected sites together with their geographical coordinates.

In exceptional cases, where to make information public could compromise the aim of conserving a species, the Member State concerned sends that information to the Commission only in printed form. The relevant data is not entered into a computer.

2. Responsibility for dialogue with each landowner involved lies with the Member States. For its part, the Commission tries to inform the various socio-economic groups and representational bodies about the creation of the Natura 2000 network and its practical implications. In particular, it publishes an information letter, which reaches a wide audience.

3. Regulation (EC) No 1404/96 of 15 July 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 1973/92 establishing a financial instrument for the environment (Life) ((OJ L 181, 20.7.1996. )) provided a reference amount of ECU 450 million for the period 1996-99. Annual amounts have to fit in with the limits of the financial perspective.

Article 7(3) of the Regulation stipulates that the reference amount is to be examined by the Council before 31 December 1997 on the basis of a report to be forwarded by the Commission before 30 September 1997.

At this stage, and in view of the tight nature of the current financial perspective, the Commission does not envisage asking for the reference amount laid down in the Regulation to be increased.