Minister for Gozo and Planning Clint Camilleri met with the Commissioner responsible for the Environment, Water Resilience and the Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall.

This meeting, which was held at the request of the Government, focused on the “research derogation” concerning the seven species of songbirds.

During the meeting the Gozo Minister invited the European Commission for an “on-site verification mission to closely observe the project and reiterate Malta’s commitment to transparency and cooperation.”

Minister Clint Camilleri, who is also responsible for hunting, stated that, “in Brussels we not only met with Maltese MEPs where we discussed Gozo as well as the hobby of hunting and trapping, we also met with the European Commissioner responsible for the Environment including the hunting and trapping sector where we discussed in particular the “research” of the seven species of songbirds.

Camilleri said that, “here, we maintained our position, a firm position, a position which we also explained here how it is adhering precisely to the judgement of the European Court and has also been adjusted to precisely respect all of this.”

“However, more than that we also talked about how one can go hand in hand so that there is a solution possibly even in the long term when it comes to this research and possibly even other initiatives that are actually respecting not only the European Commission but everything that is decided by the Court,” insisted Camilleri.

He continued by saying that Malta will “continue to uphold its position, convinced of what it is doing and will continue to demand that this country has no less than other countries.” He expressed the Government’s determination that this sector “will continue to have a future.”

The minister reiterated “Malta’s commitment to respecting the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union as is also expected from the Commission.”

He recalled that “following the 2018 judgement on the derogation that allowed traditional trapping, Malta honoured this and stopped the practice. In response to the lack of information and scientific data identified by the Court, Malta introduced a new legislative framework under a separate derogation, strictly for research purposes.”

Camilleri claimed that “this initiative is generating robust information, including a significant increase in foreign ring recoveries through the clap-net system, which in some species has even surpassed existing information.”

He argued that “in five years of such research, the information collected from ring recoveries exceeded 100 years of ring recoveries by BirdLife Malta. This information is essential for calculating the populations of these bird species.”

Minister Camilleri also referred to the 2024 Court judgement on the “scientific research derogation,” which recognised the accuracy of Malta’s legislative framework but found that the declaration “lacked ultimate justification.”

He explained that Malta had “taken note of this judgement, which did not exclude the possibility of applying the derogation, and, in response, the 2024 declaration had been refined to include detailed reasoning, and this in full alignment with the ruling.”

He stressed that “the research is being carried out through a participatory citizen science model involving the collection and recording of information under strict supervision, with enforcement measures in place to prevent illegal activities.”

Camilleri said that “Commissioner Roswall welcomed the dialogue with the Maltese authorities, and affirmed that the European Commission remains open to dialogue in order to ensure full compliance with EU law.”

Minister Camilleri thanked Commissioner Roswall for the constructive meeting, and reiterated his intention to maintain an open dialogue with the European Commission. He expressed optimism that discussions at a technical level could lead to collaborative solutions that effectively serve mutual interests.

He concluded by affirming that his priority “remains the protection of the interests of the Maltese and Gozitan people, and ensuring that Malta is not treated differently from other Member States.”

Photo: DOI

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