Be the first to comment!European Commission calls on Malta to comply with judgement on finch trapping
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The European Commission is calling on Malta to comply with the European Court of Justice judgement on finch trapping.
The European Commission said on Wednesday that it has decided to send a letter of formal notice under Article 260 TFEU to Malta (INFR(2020)2346) for “failing to comply with the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union of the 19th of September 2024 (C-23/23).
In this ruling, the Court of Justice found that Malta had “not fulfilled its obligations under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) by adopting a derogation scheme allowing the live capturing of seven species of wild finches.”
The EC argued that “on the 20th October 2024, Malta adopted a new derogation scheme, nearly identical to the derogation rejected by the Court.”
The Commission said that it considers that the new derogation “fails again to provide a precise and adequate statement of reasons to explain its deviation from standard scientific means of research in the ornithological field, needed to justify the proportionality of the derogation.”
The Commission stated that it “also considers that Malta has failed to explain the lack of other satisfactory solutions.”
“The Commission is therefore sending a letter of formal notice to Malta, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission.
“In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to refer Malta back to the Court of Justice of the European Union, with a request to impose financial sanctions,” stated the European Commission.
File photo: BirdLife Malta
