HAVET & VANHUFFEL – Association d’avocats
Europe – Portugal – By judgment of 5 March 2026 (Case C-613/24, Commission v Portugal), the Court of Justice of the European Union ordered Portugal to pay the European Commission a lump sum of €10,000,000 for failing to designate with sufficient precision the Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) relating to protected habitats and species on its territory (infringement of Article 4(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC, the “Habitats Directive”) and for failing to adopt appropriate conservation measures for the sites concerned (infringement of Article 6(1) of that directive), despite having been required to do so by the Court’s judgment of 5 September 2019. The Court also ordered Portugal to pay a daily penalty payment of €41,250 from that date until full compliance with the judgment of 5 September 2019 (Case C-290/18 – Commission v Portugal).
The European Commission brought proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union seeking a declaration that Portugal had not fully complied with the judgment of 5 September 2019 concerning the designation and protection of Special Areas of Conservation within the Natura 2000 network. The Commission requested that Portugal be ordered to pay both a lump sum and a daily penalty payment for each day of delay in the full implementation of that judgment.
Portugal informed the Commission that, in March 2020, it had adopted a decree classifying all the Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) concerned as Special Areas of Conservation. However, the Commission considered that this measure remained insufficient to fulfil the obligations imposed by EU law and by the earlier judgment.
In a letter of formal notice sent in December 2021, the Commission criticised Portugal for failing to specify, for each site, the types of natural habitats and protected species present and for failing to adopt the required conservation measures within the prescribed time limit.
Portugal replied that management plans were being prepared or were under public consultation in order to comply with its obligations. It argued that it had already fulfilled part of the requirements laid down in the Habitats Directive, notably by formally designating the sites.
The Commission raised two main complaints. The first concerned the infringement of Article 4(4) of the Habitats Directive, on the ground that the sites had not been designated as SACs with sufficient precision regarding the protected habitats and species present.
The second complaint concerned the infringement of Article 6(1) of the Habitats Directive, due to the failure to adopt appropriate conservation measures for the sites concerned.
With regard to the first complaint, the Court recalled that the directive requires Member States to designate sites as SACs within a maximum period of six years after their inclusion on the list of Sites of Community Importance and to establish precise conservation objectives. A mere formal designation without a detailed description of the habitats and species concerned is not sufficient.
The Court held that the Portuguese decree of 2020 did not meet the required standards of precision and legal certainty. Moreover, at the reference date for assessing the infringement (February 2022), the necessary measures had still not been adopted. The Commission’s first complaint was therefore upheld.
With regard to the second complaint, the Court considered that the general protection mechanisms relied upon by Portugal could not replace the specific conservation measures required for each site.
The Court therefore found that Portugal had failed to comply with the 2019 judgment, in breach of Article 260 TFEU. It emphasised the seriousness of the infringement, since the obligations at issue are essential for the protection of biodiversity and the proper functioning of the Natura 2000 network.
Consequently, the Court ordered Portugal to pay a lump sum of €10 million and a daily penalty payment of €41,250 until the necessary measures are fully adopted. That penalty will gradually decrease as each site is brought into compliance with the requirements of EU law.
To access the judgment, follw the link : https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62024CJ0613&qid=1773066023311.