{"id":1676,"date":"2026-02-03T16:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2026-02-04T08:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:00:39","slug":"the-european-commission-confirms-romania-is-free-to-act-in-addressing-the-bear-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/the-european-commission-confirms-romania-is-free-to-act-in-addressing-the-bear-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"The European Commission confirms: Romania is free to act in addressing the bear issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels, 3 February 2026<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 At today\u2019s meeting of the Environment Commission (ENVE) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), an important step forward was made regarding European rules on coexistence with large carnivores. A representative of the European Commission\u2019s Directorate-General for the Environment made it clear:\u00a0EU law does not prevent Romania from taking effective measures to ensure public safety<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Intervention at the committee meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n

The agenda included the review of the\u00a02025 Environmental Implementation Review (EIR)<\/strong>, for which\u00a0Stefania Proietti<\/strong>, President of the Umbria Region, is preparing a draft opinion. In this context,\u00a0Csaba Borboly<\/strong>, President of the Harghita County Council and member of the CoR ENVE Commission, took the floor as\u00a0shadow rapporteur<\/strong>\u00a0for the opinion.<\/p>\n

Borboly presented\u00a0four concrete proposals<\/strong>\u00a0to be included in the draft report:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The protection of human life and safety must be explicitly stated as a priority<\/strong>\u00a0in the implementation of the Habitats Directive.<\/li>\n
  2. The European Commission should\u00a0consider launching infringement procedures<\/strong>\u00a0against Member States where compensation systems do not function, preventive measures are lacking, and human safety is repeatedly put at risk.<\/li>\n
  3. The opinion should\u00a0acknowledge that the abandonment of traditional farming directly threatens biodiversity<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 as grazing disappears, species-rich grasslands, pollinators, and habitats are lost.<\/li>\n
  4. An\u00a0EU Financial Solidarity Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0should be created in the\u00a02028\u20132034 budgetary period<\/strong>\u00a0to support regions affected by large carnivores.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In his speech, Borboly supported his arguments with concrete data illustrating the seriousness of the situation in Romania:\u00a0more than 10,000 bears<\/strong>\u00a0live in the country,\u00a0over 5,200 compensation cases<\/strong>\u00a0were recorded in just two years, and\u00a086% of mayors<\/strong>\u00a0do not dare to take decisions on interventions due to legal uncertainty.<\/p>\n

    The Commission\u2019s response: Romania is free to act<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In his reply,\u00a0Nicola Notaro<\/strong>, Head of Unit at the European Commission\u2019s Directorate-General for the Environment, clearly stated the EU position. He emphasized that\u00a0Romania has full freedom to take measures to manage the bear population<\/strong>. The European Union\u00a0does not prohibit<\/strong>\u00a0Member States from acting or from managing wildlife populations in a way that ensures\u00a0the safety of human lives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Notaro also highlighted a fundamental principle of environmental policy:\u00a0prevention is far easier and cheaper than remediation<\/strong>. This is especially true when human lives are at stake\u2014these cannot be compensated or restored afterward. Prevention is therefore not only an economic necessity, but also\u00a0a moral obligation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    This clarification is particularly important because, in Romania, authorities often claim that EU regulations tie their hands. The Commission representative\u2019s words now make it clear:\u00a0the problem is not in Brussels, but in domestic implementation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Cooperation with the rapporteur<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Rapporteur\u00a0Stefania Proietti<\/strong>\u00a0responded positively to the proposals. She confirmed that she will work\u00a0closely with Csaba Borboly as shadow rapporteur<\/strong>\u00a0during the drafting process. The aim is for the final document to go beyond general statements and include\u00a0concrete recommendations<\/strong>\u00a0addressed to the European Commission.<\/p>\n

    The rapporteur underlined that the cooperation seeks to ensure the opinion serves\u00a0environmental and nature protection across Europe<\/strong>, while also taking into account the\u00a0real challenges faced by rural communities<\/strong>. The goal is an EU policy that does not pit nature conservation against human safety.<\/p>\n

    What does this mean in practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Today\u2019s meeting marks a milestone in several respects:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • The European Commission has\u00a0publicly confirmed<\/strong>\u00a0that Romania\u00a0cannot invoke EU law<\/strong>\u00a0as an excuse for failing to take effective action on the bear issue.<\/li>\n
    • The CoR opinion will address the large carnivore question and may put forward\u00a0concrete proposals to the Commission<\/strong>, including the possibility of infringement procedures.<\/li>\n
    • Harghita County\u2019s experience<\/strong>\u00a0can be incorporated into a European document, serving as a\u00a0model for other affected regions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The committee adoption of the opinion is expected on\u00a018 June 2026<\/strong>, with plenary adoption scheduled for\u00a012\u201315 October 2026<\/strong>. Until then, intensive work will continue on finalizing the text.<\/p>\n

      The message is clear<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The key message of today is that\u00a0the responsibility lies with Romania<\/strong>. The European Union provides the legal framework, funding opportunities, and professional support\u2014but\u00a0action must take place at national and local level<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      The action plan developed by the\u00a0Harghita County Regional Large Carnivore Platform<\/strong>\u00a0proves that workable solutions exist. The real question now is whether the Romanian government and local authorities will use these opportunities, or whether inaction and shifting responsibility will continue in the face of a worsening situation.<\/p>\n

      The protection of human lives cannot wait any longer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Csaba Borboly<\/strong>
      \nVicepresident of the Harghita County Council
      \nMember of the ENVE Commission of the European Committee of the Regions<\/p>\n

      Brussels, 3 February 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Brussels, 3 February 2026\u00a0\u2013 At today\u2019s meeting of the Environment Commission (ENVE) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), an important step forward was made regarding European rules on coexistence with large carnivores. A representative of the European Commission\u2019s Directorate-General for the Environment made it clear:\u00a0EU law does not prevent Romania from taking effective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1679,"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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hirek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676","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=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1681,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions\/1681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}