Cyprus warned on biodiversity, flooding, EU fraud

The European Commission will send a reasoned opinion to Cyprus and 14 other member states calling them to implement provisions under EU law to prevent the destruction of natural habitats.

The Commission’s regular package of infringement decisions for February includes two letters of formal notice sent to Cyprus, concerning the need to update flood risk maps and transpose EU rules to fight fraud against the bloc’s budget. The package also includes references to two open infringement procedures against multiple member states, including Cyprus, on EU rules to protect whistle-blowers and the European Arrest Warrant.

Alien species

The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Cyprus and another 14 member states (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia) to implement provisions of Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. The reasoned opinion is the last stage before the Commission refers a case of infringement to the EU Court of Justice.

Invasive alien species are plants and animals that are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a natural environment where they are not normally found as a result of human intervention. This has serious negative consequences for their new environment.

They are one of the five major causes of biodiversity loss in Europe. Addressing them is an important aspect of the EU’s aim to halt biodiversity loss as articulated in the European Green Deal and the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

The 15 Member States concerned have failed to establish, implement and communicate to the Commission an action plan to address the most important pathways of introduction and spread of invasive alien species of concern.

The Commission sent letters of formal notice to 18 Member States in June 2021. As the responses received from 15 of those Member States were unsatisfactory, the Commission has decided to issue reasoned opinions.

Flood Risk Maps

The Commission is also sending letters of formal notice to Cyprus and another six countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia), calling them to update their Flood Hazard Maps and Flood Risk Maps as required by the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) on the assessment and management of flood risks.

The letter of formal notice is the first stage of the infringement procedure of the European Commission.

Flood Hazard Maps should cover the geographical areas that could be flooded, whereas Flood Risk Maps show the potential negative consequences of these flood scenarios.

These maps form the basis for the drafting of Flood Risk Management Plans. Member States were required to report on the updates they made to their first Flood Hazard Maps and Flood Risk Maps by December 2019.

The deadline for informing the Commission about the review and updating expired in March 2020.

Budget fraud

Cyprus was sent a letter of formal notice, along with Belgium, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, because the country did not correctly transpose EU rules on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests.

These rules, part of the Commission’s overall anti-fraud strategy, protect the EU’s budget by harmonising the definitions, sanctions, jurisdiction rules, and limitation periods related to fraud and other offences affecting the EU financial interests.

A proper transposition of those rules by the Member States is necessary to enable the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to conduct effective investigations and prosecutions.