On July 19, the European Commission (EC) gave the Bulgarian Government 60 days to present to the EC the full list of zones in the country to be included in the Natura 2000 European environmental conservation network.

If Bulgaria fails to comply, it will be subject to prosecution at European level and the country's taxpayers could face having to foot the bill for huge compensation.
The EC said that it was preparing the first warning letter about failure to implement European legislation in Bulgaria because of the country's failure to apply EU Habitats and Birds Directives.

Bulgaria had until January 1 2007, the date of EU accession, to pronounce 30 per cent of the territory as protected and to include it in Natura 2000. The Cabinet, however, reduced the area covered to about 20 per cent.

Brussels has now started the first-ever penalty procedure against Bulgaria since the country entered the EU. Another condition the government did not follow was to provide sufficient information to society and to conduct scientific research into the protection of wild birds.

"Bulgaria does not have to put at risk its rich biodiversity and therefore the country has to quickly and completely apply the European directives," said EC DG Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Dimas's spokesperson Barbara Helferich said that if the Cabinet could not within the deadline offer an acceptable explanation for the postponement of the Natura 2000 measures, or did not take decisive action, a second warning letter would be sent. If the Cabinet continues to respond appropriately, Bulgaria will face prosecution.

Natura 2000 supporters and a crowd of more than 500 individuals protested under the motto "We will not keep quiet about Bulgarian nature" on July 19 during a parade through Sofia. The parade started in front of the National Palace of Culture and proceeded on Vitosha Boulevard to Alexander Nevski cathedral. Posters saying "Nature, not concrete", "How does one find so many loopholes in the law?" and "We will not keep quiet about Shabla (Black sea cape, Bulgaria's easternmost point and a small fishing village)" were carried by the protesters.

The July 26 pro-Natura 2000 weekly protest consisted of participants each putting a handful of yellow coins in front of the Cabinet's door. Some of them said they would support the collection of money to pay the fine for not following EU directives and cutting Natura 2000's size.

Others said that their demonstration represented rejection of Bulgaria's nature being sold "for yellow coins" (a Bulgarian saying) and some of the environmentalists said that this was their first payment to buy a piece of virgin nature.

The protesters said that for Parliament's decision on the new Protected Areas Act (voted on July 12, it provides for a ban on court actions against the boundaries of protected areas) to be effective, the authorities should demolish the Crash 2000 construction site in Strandzha National Park, also part of Natura 2000 network. If this did not happen, the change to the law would mean nothing, they said.

They said that the most sensible decision the Cabinet could take now would be to approve all protected areas, adding up to 30 per cent of the territory of Bulgaria, that environment organisations have said should be included in Natura 2000.