CITES in the EU

The CITES provisions are implemented uniformly in the European Community (EC) for all 27 Member States through EU regulations. Non-uniform implementation measures at the Member State level could lead to distortions of competition within the Community. In some respects, EU law is more restrictive than CITES itself. For example, EU legislation requires an import permit not only for specimens listed in Appendix A (high risk of extinction), but also for Appendix B specimens, with the condition that import is only allowed if it is not detrimental to the populations in the wild (opinion of the scientific authority). In addition, for live specimens, possession or transport within the Community may also be restricted at the Community level. Under certain conditions, the European Commission can generally or specifically restrict imports into the Community with regard to certain countries of origin. To this end, the European Commission regularly publishes a list of potential restrictions in the Official Journal of the European Community.

Although the EU regulations on trade in wild fauna and flora are directly applicable in all EU Member States, the Member States must create corresponding legal instruments in their national law to apply and implement the EU regulations. This primarily involves the necessary penal provisions, documentation obligations, enforcement powers, et cetera. In Austria, this is regulated through the Species Trade Act and the Species Identification Ordinance. Thus, the relevant powers remain within the sovereignty of the individual Member States, which must ensure that illegal activities can be sanctioned under federal law.

Since the market situation has significantly changed due to the realization of the internal market, Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 (EUR-Lex), which lists all protected animals and plants in its annexes, has been updated several times. Regulation 338/97 uniformly regulates the import, export, and marketing of the listed species for all EU countries.

The regulations cover all endangered species—alive or dead, as parts, or products derived from them (for example, carvings from ivory or tropical wood, jewelry, belts and handbags made of snake or crocodile leather, caviar, products made from tortoiseshell, et cetera).

Species listed in the EU

The legal requirements within the EU ensure comparable, uniform documents, procedures, and regulations, making operational processes internationally coordinated and easier to implement. Since the EU is stricter with certain species than other CITES Member States, the status of a species under Community law is always relevant for import into the European Community. The regulation contains four annexes in which the endangered species are listed analogously to the CITES appendices:

Annex A

It contains the species listed in CITES Appendix I, provided the Member States have not entered a reservation—id est, those species that are threatened with extinction or so rare that any trade would jeopardize their survival, such as chimpanzees and large sea turtles. Annex A does not necessarily exclude hunting for trophy purposes.

For import, an import permit issued by the authority competent for the respective EU Member State, as well as (re-)export documents from the (re-)exporting country, are required. For export, an export permit issued by the authority competent in the respective EU Member State is required.

Annex B

It contains the species listed in CITES Appendix II—those species traded internationally in such large quantities that their survival or that of populations in certain countries could be endangered, provided these specimens are not listed in Annex A: for example, many monkeys, parrots, orchids, cacti, and stony corals.

For import, an import permit issued by the authority competent for the respective EU Member State, as well as (re-)export documents from the (re-)exporting country, are required. For export, an export permit issued by the authority competent in the respective EU Member State is required.

Annex C

It contains the species listed in CITES Appendix III—those species that a Contracting Party has subjected to special regulations in its territory, as well as all other species covered by CITES that are not already listed in Annexes A or B, for example: king vultures, lyre antelopes, many land turtles, and lyre antelopes.

For import, an import declaration (submitted to the customs office for confirmation) and (re-)export documents from the (re-)exporting country are required. For export, an export permit issued by the authority competent in the respective EU Member State is required.

Annex D

It contains species for which the volume of imports into the European Union justifies monitoring, for example: Siberian weasels, Chinese quail, New Guinea softshell turtles, rainbow snakes, and lilies of the genus Trillium.

For import, an import declaration (submitted to the customs office for confirmation) is required; for export, no species protection documents are needed.

For live CITES-listed specimens imported for commercial purposes, a health certificate issued by the country of export must be presented to Austrian customs upon import.

Committees of the European Union for the uniform implementation of EU regulations

The effective and uniform implementation of EU regulations is also ensured by regular meetings of CITES committees in Brussels.

Committee of Management Authorities

Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 (EUR-Lex) of the Council (Council Regulation) regulates the establishment of a Management Committee for trade in wild fauna and flora, which consists of representatives of the enforcement authorities of the EU Member States and is chaired by a representative of the European Commission. The Management Committee decides on measures to improve the implementation of the EC regulations. This primarily concerns Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 (EUR-Lex), which must be regularly updated to implement relevant decisions made at the Conference of the Parties (CoPs), such as rules for personal use and general improvements to legal requirements (for example, document requirements for live Annex A specimens that are not permanently marked).

Committee of Scientific Authorities

The numerous biological and ecological aspects that must be taken into account when implementing EU regulations require the regular meeting of a Scientific Review Group, whose opinions are submitted by the Commission to the Committee and the enforcement authorities of the Member States to support them in their decisions. One of the most important topics is the evaluation of data regarding compliance with Article 4 of EC Regulation 338/97, id est, whether the import of a species into the Community is detrimental to its conservation status or distribution. In this context, the Scientific Review Group (SRG), consisting of representatives of the national Scientific CITES Authorities, has made a wealth of individual decisions on the import of specific animal species from certain countries of origin since the entry into force of EC Regulation 338/97.

Committee of Enforcement Authorities

Article 14.3 of Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 (EUR-Lex) of the Council regulates the establishment of an “Enforcement Group,” which consists of customs representatives responsible for enforcing the regulations (in many Member States, this is the police). The Enforcement Group is chaired by a representative of the European Commission and addresses technical issues arising in connection with the enforcement of the regulations. Initiatives may come from the chairperson, a group member, or the Management Committee.

Regulations in the EU (European Commission)