The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Portugal to pay the European Commission €10 million (£8.7m) for failing to comply with laws requiring it to protect biodiversity. The country was also ordered to pay a compulsory daily fine of €41,250 until it complies with the court order made in 2019 for violating the ‘Habitats Directive’.
CJEU on March 5, 2026, said the “penalty payment constitutes an appropriate financial means to encourage that Member State to take the necessary measures to put an end to the breach found and to ensure the full execution of the judgment C-290/18.”
The compulsory daily fine would stay in place until the CJEU ruling has been completely executed. However, it would be reduced taking into account the progress made.
The CJEU pointed out that that the legislation adopted by Portugal, which merely designates sites of Community importance (SCIs) as special areas of conservation (SACs) without specifying either the natural habitat types or the protected species present on each of them, remains inadequate for the purpose of complying with the Habitats Directive. Portugal has also still not adopted appropriate conservation measures.
The Court considers that these are particularly serious infringements of EU environmental law, in which Portugal has persisted.
Given that Portugal’s territory hosts rich biodiversity, including 99 habitat types and 335 species covered by the Habitats Directive, what is at stake for the European Union’s common heritage there is especially important. In view of this, as well as the considerable duration of the infringement and Portugal’s capacity to pay, the Court sets the amount of the lump sum at €10 million, stated the CJEU press release.
The European Commission submitted before the court that the non-execution of the judgment September 5, 2019 (C-290/18) entails a serious risk of aggravating the deterioration of the conservation status of natural habitats and species in Portugal, in an overall context of biodiversity degradation.
Under EU law, sites of community importance for the Atlantic biogeographic region include Peneda-Geres, Portugal’s only national park, the natural park Litoral Norte, and the Minho and Lima rivers.
The issue dates back to almost six years when the CJEU on September 5, 2019 (C-290/18) issued a ruling where it said that Portugal had not complied with obligations to designate 61 sites of community importance in the Atlantic and Mediterranean biogeographical regions as special conservation zones.
The ruling said that Portugal had “failed to fulfill its obligations under Article 4(4) of the Habitats Directive by not designating as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) the Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) which were selected by the Commission in Decisions 2004/813 and 2006/613.”
The Habitats Directive requires all Member States to establish a strict protection regime for species listed both inside and outside Natura 2000 sites.
On September 21, 2024, taking the view that Portugal had not complied with the Court’s judgment, the European Commission brought a further action for failure to fulfill obligations. It requested that the Court impose financial penalties, which the March 5, 2026, order did.