Romania risks EU court trial over misuse of €490 mln. biodiversity funds

Despite receiving nearly half a billion euros from the EU for biodiversity protection, Romania faces legal action from the European Commission for failing to meet basic conservation obligations under EU law.

The European Commission has issued a final warning to Romania, giving the country two months to properly designate and manage key protected natural areas under the Natura 2000 network or face referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), EUalive’s partner PressOne informs.

The move comes after repeated failures by Romanian authorities to adopt and implement specific conservation measures, despite having access to more than €490 million in EU funding for biodiversity protection across three financial cycles.

Most of the funds went into drafting management plans and carrying out environmental assessments. However, concrete conservation actions on the ground were scarce.

“The Commission is right, we didn’t do our job,” said Silviu Chiriac, a biodiversity expert at the Vrancea Environmental Protection Agency. “We turned what should have been five-page, practical plans into bureaucratic monsters, just to justify the money.”

Chiriac explained that excessive documentation, including geological, hydrological, and even air traffic studies, became standard, while actual ecological measures were sidelined.

In particular, Romania has not officially designated 169 Sites as Special Areas of Conservation, a key legal requirement under the EU Habitats Directive. The Commission also found that many existing management plans were either missing, incomplete, or too vague to have any real environmental impact.

“Romania had six years to ensure proper legal protection of Natura 2000 sites. Now, it has two months left before the Commission takes the matter to the EU Court,” said a Commission spokesperson.

A systemic failure

Experts argue that the situation reflects deeper structural flaws in Romania’s public administration. Many plans were rushed to secure EU funding before deadlines, often by overburdened or underqualified teams.

“The national authorities never had the capacity to evaluate the quality of these plans. They only checked if the required forms were filled in,” said Chiriac.

With the Commission now threatening court action, Romania faces not only reputational damage but potential financial penalties, despite having already spent hundreds of millions intended to protect its natural heritage.

For example, some of Romanian conservation plans include non-operational statements like “Maintain the favourable conservation status of the species”, without indicating how or with what resources.

In one case, a Natura 2000 site crossed by a highway lacked any concrete measures for the endangered species it is supposed to protect. For the protected Rosalia alpina beetle, there was no requirement to maintain deadwood beech habitat, essential for its survival.

Other infringements

In its July infringements package regarding environment, the European Commission issued final warnings – known as reasoned opinions – to Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, and Slovakia for failing to meet reporting obligations under the EU Noise Directive. Italy also received a reasoned opinion for failing to act swiftly and adequately in response to the detection of the invasive fire ant species Solenopsis invicta. Slovakia was additionally called out for shortcomings in the implementation of EU waste legislation, particularly concerning landfill treatment and the separate collection of municipal waste. Member states now have two months to address the identified failures or risk being referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The European Commission has referred both Poland and Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union for persistent environmental failures.

Poland is facing legal action on two separate counts. First, for its failure to transpose the recast Drinking Water Directive, which should have been incorporated into national law by January 2023. The Directive aims to ensure cleaner tap water and reduce distribution losses, which average 30% across the EU. The Commission considers Warsaw’s efforts insufficient and is seeking financial sanctions.

Second, Poland is being taken to court for breaching access to justice obligations under EU air quality rules. According to the Commission, Polish law does not guarantee that individuals and environmental NGOs can challenge the lack or inadequacy of air quality plans, as required by the Ambient Air Quality Directive and the Aarhus Convention. Such plans are critical when legal air pollution limits are exceeded.

Greece has also been referred to the EU Court for its longstanding failure to adopt noise action plans for urban areas and major roads, as required by the EU Noise Directive. Strategic noise maps and related action plans are essential tools to reduce exposure to harmful noise pollution. Despite earlier warnings and partial progress, Greek authorities have not addressed the shortcomings, prompting the Commission to escalate the case to the EU judiciary.

Caption: Steppe peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) bloom in the Mezozah Nature Reserve at Zau de Campie, Romania, 24 April 2025. About fifty thousand peonies bloom in the 3.5-hectare botanical reserve, where the fragrance of this herbaceous perennial lingers for weeks in springtime. EPA/GABOR KISS