A message from Csaba Borboly, Member and Rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions, Vice-President of Harghita County Council, Romania<\/p>\n
A Man Is Dead. And a Law Is Still Waiting.
\nOn 4 May 2026, the body of a 65-year-old man was found in the Kecset forest, on the territory of Lupeni commune (Farkaslaka), Harghita County, Romania \u2013 with bear bite marks on his body. He had gone missing on 27 April. Mountain rescue teams and gendarmerie warned: the area is actively dangerous.
\nThis is not an isolated incident. In the past two decades, 26 people have been killed and over 274 injured in bear attacks in Romania. The attacks are accelerating: just in the first months of 2026, there have been serious maulings in Harghita, Mure\u0219, and Covasna counties.<\/p>\n
Romania Has Done Its Part \u2013 Brussels Must Now Follow
\nRomania’s parliament has acted. The Romanian Senate voted on 17 March 2026 \u2013 70 in favour, only 10 against \u2013 to double the annual bear management quota. The Chamber of Deputies confirmed the law on 22 April 2026. The law provides for 859 bears to be culled annually in 2026 and 2027 as a preventive quota, with an additional 110 for immediate intervention when human life is at risk.
\nAs of the time of writing, the law awaits the signature of President Nicu\u0219or Dan for promulgation. Every day of delay means another hunting season lost \u2013 and another season of unmanaged, exponentially growing bear population.
\nBut even when the law is signed and implemented, it will not be enough. The core problem lies in Europe.<\/p>\n
The Hard Evidence: A Population Out of Control
\nA landmark genetic study completed in 2025 \u2013 the largest of its kind ever conducted in a single EU Member State, based on 24,000 DNA samples from 25 counties \u2013 identified between 10,419 and 12,770 brown bears in Romania. The estimated ecological carrying capacity is approximately 4,000 individuals. Romania hosts two to three times the sustainable population.
\nThe territory occupied by bears has nearly doubled in the past decade and now covers close to half of Romania’s land area. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, over 5,200 damage compensation claims were submitted. Harghita County is the most affected in Romania.
\nThis is not anecdote. This is data.<\/p>\n
Why Existing EU Law Is Not Working in Practice
\nThe Habitats Directive (92\/43\/EEC), Articles 14 and 16, already allows Member States to apply derogations for population management when species exceed ecological carrying capacity, or when human health and safety are at risk. On paper, the legal tools exist.
\nIn practice, they fail repeatedly \u2013 for three structural reasons:
\n1. Derogations Are Legally Fragile and Constantly Challenged
\nEvery management decision in Romania has been subject to court injunctions brought by environmental NGOs. Hunting quotas adopted by government ordinance have been suspended mid-season by courts. Local authorities and hunters cannot operate under conditions of permanent legal uncertainty. The CoR 2024 Opinion \u2013 of which I was Rapporteur \u2013 explicitly called on the Commission to ensure that derogations “can be effectively implemented by Member States, thereby prohibiting Member States from undermining the application of this system through national or local legal acts”.
\n2. The Protection Status Itself Creates an Unsurmountable Barrier
\nAs long as the brown bear remains listed under Annex IV of the Habitats Directive \u2013 the strictest level of protection \u2013 every management action triggers a disproportionate legal burden. The wolf precedent has already shown the way: in December 2024, the wolf’s protection status was downgraded from Annex IV to Annex V of the Habitats Directive, following a proposal supported by the Committee of the Regions. The same step must now be taken for the brown bear, at least in regions where populations demonstrably exceed carrying capacity.
\n3. Compensation Systems Are Dysfunctional and Unjust
\nUnder current Romanian law \u2013 shaped in part by EU liability frameworks \u2013 a victim of a bear attack receives a maximum of 350 euros in compensation. Meanwhile, if a driver hits a wild animal on the road, the fine can reach 40,000 euros. This grotesque inversion of values destroys public trust and reflects the deeper imbalance in how EU law currently weighs animal protection against human safety.<\/p>\n
What the CoR Has Already Said \u2013 And What Must Now Be Done
\nAs Rapporteur of the CoR Opinion adopted on 17 April 2024 at the 160th Plenary Session, I led the process of building a European consensus around the following key positions:
\n\u2022 The protection status of species must be periodically reassessed against objective criteria, taking account of population developments
\n\u2022 Where populations exceed carrying capacity, the priority must be effective, flexible management \u2013 not symbolic protection
\n\u2022 Derogations under Article 16 must be practically implementable \u2013 the Commission must prevent their systematic obstruction at national level
\n\u2022 Direct EU funding is needed for prevention, compensation, and local capacity-building \u2013 without bureaucratic bottlenecks
\n\u2022 Local and regional authorities must be full partners in decision-making, not merely consulted as an afterthought
\nSince 2017, when I first drafted the CoR Working Document on coexistence with conflict species, I have argued that human life must take priority over the protection of any individual animal. That principle is now tested in Harghita County every single week.<\/p>\n
The Harghita Model: Science, Safety, Coexistence
\nHarghita County has developed the most detailed regional action plan for coexistence with large carnivores of any EU region. It is built on five pillars: prevention and early warning systems; transparent damage assessment and fair compensation; science-based population management; data transparency and multi-level governance; and a dedicated EU financial solidarity mechanism in the next MFF (2028\u20132034).
\nThe Action Plan calls for exactly what the CoR Opinion demands at European level: active, adaptive wildlife management that combines nature conservation goals with human security and rural resilience. Harghita is not asking to eliminate bears. It is asking for the right to manage them responsibly \u2013 and for Europe to provide the legal and financial framework that makes this possible.<\/p>\n
The Message to Europe
\nThe bear attacks are real. The deaths are real. The population explosion is scientifically documented. The parliaments have voted. The laws have been passed.
\nAnd yet, people are still dying.
\nThis is the moment when Europe must move from declaration to action:
\n1. Downlist the brown bear from Annex IV to Annex V of the Habitats Directive in regions with documented overpopulation \u2013 following the wolf precedent
\n2. Protect derogation implementation from systematic legal obstruction at national level
\n3. Establish a dedicated EU funding mechanism in MFF 2028\u20132034 for prevention, compensation, and regional wildlife management capacity
\n4. Ensure local and regional authorities have real decision-making power, not just consultative roles, in species management
\nThe communities of Harghita County have been making this case in Brussels for nearly a decade \u2013 through CoR opinions, working documents, plenary speeches, and bilateral meetings. The evidence is overwhelming. The legal pathway exists.
\nWhat is still missing is the political will to act before the next tragedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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