§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which European Union countries have so far failed (a) to transpose the provisions of the Habitats Directive into their national laws; and (b) to deposit with the Commission their lists of special areas of conservation which the directive requested them to do by June 1995, and what effect these delays will have on the future operation of the directive.
Lord LucasThere is no official information available to the Government on member states' implementation of the Habitats Directive.
The directive required member states to transpose its provisions by June 1994. Member states may choose the means of transposition into their national laws. It is for the European Commission to judge the extent to which such transposition in respect of the Habitats Directive has taken place.
As far as the Government are aware, although all member states are actively engaged in site selection and consultation, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have not so far submitted any part of their national lists of sites.
21WATransposition and communication of the national lists of sites are essential to ensure that the Habitats Directive is implemented coherently across the Union. The Commission may take infraction proceedings under Article 169 of the Treaty against those member states which are considered to have failed to comply with their obligations.