Clint Camilleri did not inform EU Commissioner of finch trapping plan in meeting

Updated 2.35pm with minister's statement

Clint Camilleri announced a new derogation to allow finch trapping just two days after he met a European Commissioner to discuss Malta’s ongoing dispute with the EU over allowing the practice.

The new derogation was not discussed during the meeting, with the Commission only learning about it through media reports.  

The timeline of events emerges from a letter sent to Birdlife CEO Mark Sultana by a top Commission official on behalf of EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.

Camilleri, a minister who is himself a trapper, met with Roswall on October 15.

Roswall asked the minister “for more information on how the national authorities plan to ensure the full implementation of the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in case C-23/23,” a letter by her head of unit Nicola Notaro, which was published by Birdlife on Saturday, reveals.

Two days later, the Maltese government announced that it would be allowing licensed trappers to catch finches, ostensibly for scientific research purposes.

Notaro told Birdlife that the European Commission "learned from the press that a new ‘research derogation’ has been adopted on 17 October by the Maltese authorities."

"The Commission services are currently assessing the new 'research derogation'," it told Birdlife. “If EU law is not complied with, the Commission may decide to take additional enforcement steps such as referring Malta back to the Court of Justice of the European Union,” Notaro added.

Malta has battled the EU over finch trapping for years. The practice was effectively outlawed in 2009, after a multi-year derogation negotiated with the EU as part of Malta’s membership expired.

In 2014, the government reintroduced an autumn trapping season and a decade-long legal battle with EU authorities began. In 2018 the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta had failed to justify its decision to continue the practice, effectively banning it.

But in 2020 Malta announced that it would start allowing finch trapping as part of a “scientific research” programme – a justification which was ultimately dismissed by the European Court of Justice four years later, in a 2024 decision.

Malta has effectively ignored that decision and continued to allow finch trapping in autumn. It argues that the new derogations have been “fine-tuned” to comply with the ECJ judgment.

The European Commission disagrees and last year filed fresh infringement proceedings against Malta, saying that it may refer Malta back to the ECJ and request heavy financial sanctions for having ignored the court’s ruling.

Those infringement proceedings were the subject of Camilleri and Roswell’s October 15 meeting. The government described the meeting as “constructive” and said Camilleri wanted to maintain “open dialogue” with the European Commission.

But it appears Camilleri failed to inform the commissioner that the government was on the cusp of opening a new finch trapping season, despite that decision being announced two days later.

This year, the Maltese government went one step further in allowing finch trapping by also removing a requirement for bird rings to be obtained from EURING-approved ringing schemes. That decision effectively cut Birdlife – a vocal critic of finch trapping and the only local EURING partner – out of the equation.

Hunters and trappers celebrated that decision as a “major step forward in scientific research and conservation in Malta”.

In a statement on Saturday, Birdlife said the EU Commission's letter made it clear that the EU has not "approved or endorsed" the government's 2025 finch derogation.

"Both last year’s so-called research season and the one currently open are aggravating Malta’s position before the European Union through a clear breach of the EU Birds Directive and the European Court of Justice ruling of 19 September 2024," it said. 

Clint Camilleri: 'They're badmouthing Malta'

In a statement issued on social media, the minister said Birdlife was trying to "badmouth Malta" at EU level. 

"It seems some are not pleased that I continued to communicate the government's strong position in favour of our trappers," he said. 

The minister made no reference to his failure to inform the European Commission of the 2025 derogation during his October 15 meeting. 

Instead, he reiterated that the government's position that it was now in line with the ECJ ruling as its trapping programme now contained "detailed reasoning", as requested by the court.