BRUSSELS — EU member countries are considering loosening the bloc’s wildlife protection rules to make it easier to build industrial projects, even if that results in the deliberate killing or disturbing of protected species.
The proposal highlights growing tensions between Europe’s environmental protections and its push to revive industry.
The European Parliament and EU countries are shaping their positions on the European Commission’s proposal, published in December, aimed at speeding up environmental assessments for projects ranging from renewable energy and electricity grids to data centers and AI factories.
The proposal would also redefine what counts as “deliberate” killing under the Birds and Habitats Directives. The laws underpin the EU’s nature protection policy and prohibit the deliberate killing or disturbance of protected species, except in specific circumstances such as protecting public health and safety or to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water.
