At today’s meeting of the European People\u2019s Party (EPP), where I took the floor, it became clear that both the European Parliament and the European Commission are beginning to view the brown bear issue through a new lens.<\/p>\n
My speech in the EPP and the support from Herbert Dorfmann \u2013 historic statements were made<\/p>\n
In my intervention, I highlighted that:<\/p>\n
* the brown bear population is not only stable but growing exponentially in several European regions,<\/p>\n
* this poses risks measurable in human lives,<\/p>\n
* it renders traditional farming impossible,<\/p>\n
* it pushes back mountain tourism,<\/p>\n
* and it causes communities to lose their sense of safety.<\/p>\n
Herbert Dorfmann, a key EPP member of the European Parliament\u2019s AGRI Committee, fully agreed with these points.<\/p>\n
The following key messages were expressed \u2014 each of them a breakthrough:<\/p>\n
In the wolf case, the European Commission officially stated that Member States are free to decentralise management to the regional level \u2014 intervention must occur where the problem appears.<\/p>\n
This principle also applies to the brown bear and is available to Romania as well.<\/p>\n
In recent years, several species have not only recovered but expanded exponentially, creating new conflicts.<\/p>\n
This would allow reducing protection levels in NUTS II regions where the bear is no longer endangered, while human life and economic activity are.<\/p>\n
Meeting with FACE large carnivore expert \u2013 the Ari\u00e8ge Charter could gain new momentum<\/p>\n
(FACE meeting with Guillaume Ag\u00e8de, FACE Policy Advisor on Large Carnivores)<\/p>\n
Today’s political progress is closely connected to yesterday\u2019s working meeting with Guillaume Ag\u00e8de, during which we reviewed:<\/p>\n
* the Ari\u00e8ge Charter, one of Europe\u2019s most important documents on mountain coexistence,<\/p>\n
* its potential revival at EU level,<\/p>\n
* and the need for joint European action, without which no long-term results can be achieved in brown bear management.<\/p>\n
FACE experts also confirmed:<\/p>\n
Across Europe, the same conflicts are emerging, and the time has come for mountain regions to speak with a common voice.<\/p>\n
We also discussed the possibilities of:<\/p>\n
* a common data centre,<\/p>\n
* a unified damage administration system,<\/p>\n
* NUTS II-level management plans,<\/p>\n
* and coordinated action towards the political levels of the European Union.<\/p>\n
What does all this mean for Europe?<\/p>\n
The problems of mountain regions have become European problems.<\/p>\n
Traditional farming methods that preserve biodiversity are in danger.<\/p>\n
Brown bear management needs a new political approach: regional flexibility, openness to lowering protection levels, and targeted EU funding.<\/p>\n
Safety, food production, and the survival of rural communities are European values that must be protected again.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next? \u2013 The next steps<\/p>\n
* Political pressure in the European Parliament for NUTS II regions.<\/p>\n
* Opening the EU-level dialogue on reducing protection status.<\/p>\n
* Incorporating mountain charters \u2014 such as the Ari\u00e8ge model \u2014 into EU policies.<\/p>\n
* A unified compensation system, shared database, and rapid intervention teams.<\/p>\n
* Coordinated action by the Committee of the Regions, FACE, and European Parliament Intergroups.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
Europe has finally heard the voice of mountain communities.<\/p>\n
On the brown bear issue, real political movement has begun within the European Union, and Harghita County is at the forefront of this process.<\/p>\n
This framework may shape the EU\u2019s nature conservation policy for the next decade.<\/p>\n
We continue our work!<\/p>\n
Brussels, 10 December 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At today’s meeting of the European People\u2019s Party (EPP), where I took the floor, it became clear that both the European Parliament and the European Commission are beginning to view the brown bear issue through a new lens. My speech in the EPP and the support from Herbert Dorfmann \u2013 historic statements were made In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1627"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1631,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627\/revisions\/1631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}