Habitats Directive: protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus)

PURPOSE: to align the protection status of the wolf under the Habitats Directive for all EU Member States to the amended status under the Bern Convention.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: under the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) the wolf (Canis lupus) is currently listed as a strictly protected species in most of the EU territory.

On the basis of an in-depth analysis on the status of the wolf in the EU, the Commission proposed in December 2023 to change the protection status of the wolf under the Bern Convention. The proposal was then adopted by the Council in September 2024.

In December 2024, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention voted in favour of the EU proposal to adapt the protection status of the wolf from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’. The change entered into force on 7 March 2025, in line with the procedure defined in Article 17 of the Bern Convention.

CONTENT: this initiative seeks to align the protection status of the wolf under the Habitats Directive for all EU Member States to the amended status under the Bern Convention, bringing it to ‘protected’ as opposed to ‘strictly protected’.