The European Commission is to finally warn Malta against spring hunting and according to Commissioner Dimas, Malta will be taken to court if spring hunting is not stopped, according to BirdLife International.

The organisation welcomed yesterday’s “decision by the European Commission to send Malta a final written warning regarding the practice of spring hunting of wild birds, which is illegal under EU law. Every spring since its accession to the EU in 2004, Malta has permitted hunting of turtle dove and common quail, in direct contravention of the EU Birds Directive”.

In a terse statement, and without actually making reference to the issue, the Rural Affairs and Environment Ministry said that it will be replying to the commission’s “reasoned opinion” when it receives a formal copy.

Based on a complaint by BirdLife, the Commission started legal action against Malta in 2006 “but progress was slow” BirdLife said. Earlier this year, the European Parliament called on the Commission “to redouble its efforts to persuade the Maltese authorities to comply fully with Community law”.

BirdLife International and BirdLife Malta have campaigned against spring hunting in Malta. “The Maltese Islands are located on an important bird migration route in the Mediterranean.

“The EU Birds Directive specifically protects birds by banning hunting during their spring migration back from Africa to their breeding grounds throughout the European Union. A recent study analysing the ring recoveries in Malta, showed that birds originating from a minimum of 36 European countries fly over Malta each year”.

“We are pleased to see firm action now coming from the Commission on this,” said Konstantin Kreiser, EU Policy Manager at BirdLife in Brussels. “The Commission needs to be tough on this case, therefore we also welcome Commissioner Dimas’ statement in his blog earlier this week saying Malta will be taken to the Court if spring hunting isn’t stopped.”

BirdLife said it feared that if the Commission was not firm enough other countries could follow Malta’s example and the EU’s credibility could be seriously undermined.

BirdLife is calling on the Maltese government to respond to the Commission’s warning by officially declaring the end of spring hunting in Malta, for 2008 and beyond.

“If it fails to do so, BirdLife will urge the European Commission to apply to the European Court of Justice for an immediate order.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission yesterday continued with infringement proceedings against eight member states including Malta for failing to adopt emergency plans for chemical plants. The Commission also took legal action against 12 member states including Malta for failing to submit their Energy Efficiency Action Plan and against eight members states including Malta for not properly transposing EU legislation to tackle waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the hazardous substances contained in such products.