The European Commission has taken Germany to the European Court of Justice over insufficient biodiversity. After years of warnings and reminders, Germany has now been sued for failing to adequately comply with the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive).
According to Brussels, even after the first deadline more than ten years ago, Germany has still not effectively designated a large number of areas as protected zones. Therefore, Germany is being urged to finally complete the necessary measures from the EU Habitats Directive.
The European Commission aims, through the Green Deal and the EU biodiversity strategy, to protect and restore biological diversity in Europe. Specifically, the directive concerns the designation of special protected areas and the setting of concrete targets.
Last week, the German cabinet of CDU and SPD reached a compromise on an insect and animal welfare law that also includes some environmental measures. However, CDU Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner has made reservations against many environmental components.
Most German federal states also oppose too many restrictions on the operations of German farmers and livestock breeders. As a result, it is unclear whether Germany will take any action against violations of the EU Habitats Directive before the upcoming parliamentary elections at the end of this year.
In some cases, the deadline for implementing the Habitats Directive has already passed by more than ten years. Since 2015, extensive discussions have been held with German authorities. In 2019, the European Commission reaffirmed its demands. To date, Germany "still has not designated a significant number of areas as special protection zones," according to the EU press release.
The Federal Ministry for the Environment said that more details about the EU procedure will be disclosed in the coming weeks or months. Berlin will then examine this and address it together with the federal states responsible for the vast majority of the FFH areas.
Brussels states that Germany has no measurable targets for all 4,606 FFH areas of community interest in Germany. Berlin points out that EU measures have been implemented in the FFH areas in the economic zones (EEZ) of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, for which the federal government is responsible.