The European Commission (EC) filed a claim to the European Communities’ Court in Luxembourg against Italy because of cases of industrial and private villas being built in Natura 2000 local zones.

The EC alleges that there have been violations of EC and European Council directives on the preservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna. This is the second court action of this kind against Italy. In the first, on March 20 2003, the court found that Italy had not fulfilled its legal obligations, Darik radio reported on May 5.

Back in Bulgaria, the WWF said on May 16 that the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) had postponed to June 12 2007 a court action by environmental organisations against the Government, concerning the Cabinet’s March 2 2007 decision on Natura 2000 sites. The postponement was ordered because of a need to consult the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs as a party to the case, filed on March 23 2007.

The pro-Natura citizens met United Nations Development Programme resident representative in Bulgaria Neil Buhne to ask him as a neutral party to mediate between them and their “own government”. The group issued a media statement saying that Buhne had promised to find a way to assist.

“People and their spirit” was the theme of the May 17 episode in the series of weekly demonstrations in front of the Cabinet office to pressure the Government to increase the number of sites included in Natura 2000.

Previously, the environmentalists presented the four elements - wind, water, earth and fire - and followed up with the “fifth element - the people themselves”.

Climate change was just one proof of humankind’s power over nature, a power that was extensive but not infinite, the group said.
“The devastating natural cataclysms in Bulgaria and throughout the world show us clearly that we have little time to learn to live in harmony with nature and without destroying it,” they said.

The Cabinet has responded to a request by the pro-Natura 2000 group to meet the ministers in front of journalists to set out the group’s arguments and intentions about the final list of Natura 2000 protected zones in Bulgaria. The Cabinet said the environmentalists should, like other citizens, use the Cabinet’s waiting room.

The environmentalists said that they were disappointed and found the response unacceptable, condemning it as a formality that lacked substance. During the May 17 protest, those involved in the protest knocked symbolically on the Cabinet’s doors, saying that they wanted to enter to explain to ministers the irreversible consequences of decreasing the Natura 2000 envelopment.