ECJ Rules That Natura 2000 Sites Are Not Carved In Stone

By its 3 April 2014 judgment in a preliminary ruling procedure, the ECJ has held that in certain cases, the Member States are required to propose to the Commission the declassification of a site on the list of SCIs. This is especially true for those cases in which the owner of land forming part of a site on that list makes a request to declassify that site and proves that the relevant site cannot contribute to the achievement of the objectives set forth in the Habitats Directive.

Background

Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora ("Habitats Directive") provides for setting up a European network of areas of conservation under the title "Natura 2000". Said Directive required the Member States to nominate sites suitable for entry in the Natura 2000 network. Based on such nominations, the Commission selected the sites forming the Natura 2000 network as "sites of Community importance" (SCIs). The Member States were