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Animals

EU Birds Directive

The first EU nature directive. It protects all naturally occurring wild birds in the Union and drives Special Protection Areas inside Natura 2000: the bird half of the pair with the Habitats Directive.

A white-tailed eagle above the water at Svolvær, Norway: a wild European bird of the kind the Birds Directive requires Member States to protect
Image: Yathin S Krishnappa ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )
Animals Existing / enacted European Union

Official name: Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds
Citation: Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified; originally Directive 79/409/EEC, 1979)
Year / status: Original Birds Directive 79/409/EEC (1979). Current codified text: Directive 2009/147/EC of 30 November 2009. In force across EU Member States. A 2026 Commission consultation on simplification does not repeal it.

What it does

Requires Member States to protect wild bird species: bans on deliberate killing/capture, nest and egg destruction, and significant disturbance (with listed hunting and derogation rules). It also requires habitat measures and classification of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for Annex I species and for other migratory birds, with wetlands of international importance called out. SPAs form part of Natura 2000 together with Habitats SACs.

Where it applies / status

Applies across EU Member States. Original Birds Directive 79/409/EEC (1979); current codified text Directive 2009/147/EC. Member States classify Special Protection Areas, report under Article 12, and may use Article 9 derogations. A 2026 Commission consultation on simplifying the Birds and Habitats Directives does not repeal the Directive.

Documented benefits or intended effects

Intended effects: stop declines of wild birds, restore habitats, and build the SPA network (thousands of sites; Commission cites 5,400+ SPAs covering >832,000 km²). Farmland-bird declines remain a documented pressure; the Directive is the legal frame, not a guarantee of recovering indices.

Caveats

Not CITES. Not CMS alone, though migratory birds are covered by both. Not the Habitats Directive; the two instruments stay separate. The 2026 simplification consultation does not repeal the Birds Directive.

Sources

European Commission Birds Directive page; EUR-Lex text of Directive 2009/147/EC.