Brussels expects spring hunting to stop

The European Commission yesterday made it clear that, although the European Court of Justice (ECJ) did not agree to issue interim measures banning spring hunting in the 2009 season, it still expects the Maltese government not to allow hunting next spring.

A spokesman for the Commission yesterday told The Times that Thursday's court decision sets a precedent and spring hunting in Malta should not be allowed any longer.

"The decision of the ECJ is quite clear. Spring hunting should not be allowed until the final judgement on the original case instituted by the Commission against Malta is given. If the Commission sees that the Maltese government is planning to allow hunting in the spring of 2009, the Commission will decide on whether to apply once again for interim measures," he said.

During the oral hearing on the Commission's application, held at the ECJ on April 2, the Commission made it clear its application for interim measures should refer to the upcoming two spring seasons, in 2008 and 2009. The reasoning behind the Commission's demand was that the original court case against Malta over the issue is not expected to be concluded before another two years.

However, in its ruling, the court dismissed the Commission's plea on the 2009 season and only accepted to issue interim measures for this season.

The ruling noted that "it is apparent that the Commission's application for interim measures cannot be dismissed for lack of urgency as far as concerns the current year. With regard to 2009, on the other hand, urgency is not made out in the present application for interim measures".

With regard to 2009, "the application of interim measures is dismissed," the President of the ECJ ruled.

Although in technical terms the court's decision leaves a window of opportunity to Maltese hunters for the 2009 season, Brussels yesterday insisted the issue is now closed.

"We expect the Maltese authorities to follow this decision and not to allow spring hunting any longer," the spokesman insisted.

Contacted by The Times, a spokesman for the ECJ also confirmed that the Commission can technically re-apply for interim measures next year.

"The order applies only to 2008. The year 2009 is one year away and the main case may be resolved by then. However, if the case is not yet over, the Commission could always ask for further interim measures. The ECJ decision does not mean that spring hunting can definitely take place in 2009. The court only said that, right now, the 2009 season is not something which needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, speaking during yesterday's mid-day briefing in Brussels, the Commission's environment spokesman welcomed the ECJ's decision against Malta.

Speaking on behalf of Commissioner Stavros Dimas, who is on official business in China, Barbara Helfferich said the decision of the Court emphasises the importance of protecting the common natural heritage of the EU in preventing the hunting of birds during the spring period.

"The order applies to the spring period in 2008 but we consider that it sets a clear precedent in relation to spring hunting in subsequent years also in other member states."

The issue of interim measures is considered to be a very rare occasion within the EU's legal framework and Malta's case was only the third time in which this tool was used.

The legal action by the Commission followed a final written warning to Malta in October last year on the hunting of quails and turtle doves in spring.

According to the Commission, the hunting of these migratory birds takes place during their return from Africa to breeding grounds in Europe before they have had a chance to reproduce. The impact on bird numbers is therefore more significant than it would be in autumn or winter, after the breeding season.

The issue of a derogation for spring hunting was the subject of pre-accession discussions with Malta, with the Commission confirming that a derogation would be possible where the strict conditions set out in the Wild Birds Directive were met.

However, the scenario completely changed following Malta's accession as, in its most recent ruling on the issue of spring hunting, the European Court of Justice in a case against Finland (C-344/03) dated December 15, 2005, concluded that, in cases where birds were present at other periods, even where those numbers were smaller than in spring, another satisfactory solution was available and a derogation from the Birds Directive to permit spring hunting was not possible.

In that respect, the facts of the Finnish case were parallel to the situation in Malta, where the Commission believes that alternative solutions to spring hunting exist, in this case the possibility to hunt the two species in autumn.

In its final written warning in October last year, the Commission called on Malta not to permit spring hunting for this year. Responding last January, Malta did not commit to stopping spring hunting. As a result, in January 2008, the Commission referred the case to the European Court of Justice.

Given that the spring hunting season was imminent, the Commission also applied to the Court for interim measures, asking Malta not to allow spring hunting this year.

The main case, with regard to the principle of spring hunting in general, still has to be heard by the Court.