Answer to a written question – Transposition of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the protection status of the wolf – E-001288/2025(ASW)

As stated in Recital 6 of the Commission proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council amending the Habitats Directive[1] as regards the protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus)[2], pursuant to Article 193 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Member States are allowed to maintain or introduce more stringent measures to protect the environment than those already in place, as long as they are compatible with the Treaties and are notified to the Commission.

In case Member States intend to maintain a higher protection level of the wolf at national level, this should be signaled at the time of the notification of their transposition measures to the Commission, within 18 months from publication of the amending directive in the Official Journal of the European Union. This does not require adopting any specific new legal instrument.

• [1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50.
• [2] Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/43/EEC as regards the protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus), COM/2025/106 final.