GAEC standard 9 imposes a ban on converting or ploughing permanent grasslands designated as environmentally sensitive in Natura 2000 sites. Experience has, however, shown that there could be exceptional situations where such environmentally sensitive permanent grassland is damaged, for instance by invasive species, and appropriate measures to address such situations, including exceptions to the ban on ploughing of the areas concerned in order to restore such permanent grassland, could be necessary to ensure that the GAEC standard 9 requirements contribute to the protection of habitats and species. In line with the simplification objective, Member States could in particular make use of their existing control systems in Natura 2000 sites on the basis of a risk analysis. Furthermore, Member States could use mandatory requirements established in the Natura 2000 management plans, provided that those requirements comply with GAEC standard 9 listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
