The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives, with responses feeding into a “stress test” of both laws.
The two directives are EU laws that protect wild birds and natural habitats across the bloc, according to the Commission's release issued on Tuesday.
The consultation is part of a wider Commission initiative on simplification linked to EU competitiveness, while continuing to safeguard environmental, economic and social goals.
A stress test of the directives was announced in December 2025 and is intended to assess whether the laws meet their objectives to protect nature in the EU and whether they do so in a cost-efficient way.
The process will also look for ways to reduce unnecessary administrative burden while keeping nature protection standards in place.
Guidance already issued
Two guidance documents were published at the end of March 2026 — one on Natura 2000 and climate change, and another on certain provisions of the Birds Directive, the Commission said.
Natura 2000 is the EU-wide network of protected areas.
Those documents followed earlier guidance on Natura 2000 and fishing published in October 2025.
The stress test is being carried out in cooperation with EU member states and stakeholders, and will build on the results of a 2016 “Fitness Check” review of the directives.
The public consultation is open until 4 August.
