MEP Catarina Martins (The Left) has asked the European Commission whether Portugal is violating EU environmental law by authorising the clearcutting of 363 hectares of mature pine forest in the Ovar forest perimeter, which hosts Priority Habitat 2270* and lies within two Natura 2000 special areas of conservation (SACs). In a written parliamentary question submitted on 12 June 2026, Martins argues that the Portuguese Nature Conservation and Forests Institute (ICNF) is implementing a forest management plan (2020-2038) without a strategic environmental assessment (SEA), and that the clearcutting operations contravene ICNF's own norms, which prohibit similar work in a comparable SAC in Mira.
whether the Commission considers Portugal in breach of its obligation to conserve the Natura 2000 'shaded area' in Ovar; whether the exemption of clearcutting from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the subdivision of plots into under-10-hectare parcels constitute an attempt to circumvent cumulative impact assessments under Directives 2001/42/EC (SEA) and 2011/92/EU (EIA); and whether the Commission will launch infringement proceedings against Portugal under Article 258 TFEU for breaches of the SEA, EIA and Habitats Directives.
Martins' question signals a push for stronger enforcement of EU nature protection rules, targeting a specific case where national authorities are accused of allowing habitat destruction through administrative exemptions. The Commission typically has around six weeks to reply; its answer will indicate whether it sees grounds for an infringement case or considers Portugal's actions compliant with EU law. If the Commission takes up the case, it could set a precedent for how member states manage forestry operations within Natura 2000 sites, affecting landowners, forestry companies, environmental NGOs and national conservation agencies.