Immediate response
It was presented by Angelo Bonelli, first signatory, a question requiring an immediate response to Environment Minister Pichetto Fratin regarding the Senate debate on bill no. 1552, "Amendments to Law no. 157 of 11 February 1992." The question will be discussed this afternoon, June 10, in the Chamber of Deputies, starting at 3:00 PM.
The requests
Below is the text of the question presented:
BONELLI, BORRELLI, DORI, FRATOIANNI, GHIRRA, GRIMALDI, MARI, PICCOLOTTI, ZANELLA, and ZARATTI. — To the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security. — To find out – given that: Senate bill No. 1552, containing "Amendments to Law No. 157 of February 11, 1992," is currently under discussion in the Senate;
Law no. 157 of 1992 constitutes the cornerstone of national legislation regarding the protection of warm-blooded wildlife and hunting, also implementing the obligations deriving from European legislation;
According to what was reported by the associations ENPA, LAC, LAV, Legambiente, LIPU-BirdLife Italia and WWF Italia, Directorate D – Biodiversity of the Directorate-General for Development of the European Commission sent the Italian Government, as early as December 2025, an official letter containing highly critical observations on relevant parts of the Senate bill no. 1552;
The European Commission's note highlights possible serious violations of the Birds Directive 2009/147/EC and the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, with particular reference to the extension of out-of-season hunting, the weakening of ISPRA's scientific advice, the use of optical and optoelectronic instruments, and the regulation of live decoys;
further critical elements emerge from the provisions that would foresee the possibility of hunting on state-owned maritime property and in protected natural areas, in addition to the extension of huntable species to protected ones;
The European question
According to environmental and animal rights groups, the government failed to inform Parliament of the existence of the European Commission's letter, nor did it clarify whether and how the European concerns were assessed during the parliamentary process;
Parliament's failure to fully acknowledge formal objections from the European Commission regarding a bill under consideration could jeopardize the correctness of the legislative process, the quality of parliamentary investigation, and respect for the principle of loyal cooperation between national institutions and the European Union;
The approval of provisions that conflict with the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive could expose Italy to new infringement procedures, in addition to those already underway on similar matters, with possible economic and reputational consequences for the country –:
Whether the Minister being questioned is aware of the contents of the letter sent by the European Commission, whether he intends to submit the comments expressed therein to Parliament, and whether he intends to take action, within his sphere of competence, to ensure compliance with European legislation on the protection of biodiversity, habitats, and wild birds, thereby avoiding the country's exposure to the risk of further infringement proceedings, in addition to those already underway, and possible sanctions.
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