92003E0924

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0924/03

by Jorge Moreira Da Silva (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 March 2003)

Subject: Funding the Natura 2000 network

The Natura 2000 network is a basic instrument of national and European nature conservation policies. Although the list of Natura 2000 sites is not complete, it already counts for 18 % of the territory of the Union. 22 % of Portuguese territory is covered and adequate financial arrangements are required to guarantee the protection of the sites included in the Natura 2000 network. Furthermore, in order to meet the objectives established by the Gothenburg Strategy and the Johannesburg Implementation Plan, a Natura 2000 network needs to be extended to cover the marine environment.

1. When will the new rules for funding Natura 2000 be submitted? What is the total amount earmarked for it?

2. How does the Commission intend to extend the Natura 2000 network to the marine environment?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(14 April 2003)

Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(1) includes, in Article 8, a provision for Community co-financing of the management of Natura 2000, within the framework of the existing financial instruments. A preliminary assessment of the financial needs and of the possible options for Community co-financing was prepared in 2002 by a working group composed of experts from several Member States, including Portugal. The final report of the working group is available on the Internet, and indicates three possible ways to proceed.

The Commission is presently analysing the above-mentioned report of the working group and will present a Communication to the Council and the Parliament in September 2003 on possibilities to finance the Natura 2000-network.

Concerning the marine environment, the Commission is aware that the implementation of the relevant provisions of Directive 92/43/EEC for the protection of marine species as well as the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the marine environment is making slow progress.

The delays are mostly linked to a lack of scientific knowledge and the high costs of carrying out research and surveys in offshore marine areas. To accelerate this implementation, the Commission created a Maríne expert group, with the participation of experts from most Member States, including Portugal. The aim of the expert group is to establish a European common approach to deal with the problems of full implementation of Natura 2000 in the marine environment, and its first meeting took place in Brussels in March 2003.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.