Ticker
Top EU jurist says Malta's finch-trapping against EU law
By EUobserver
Advocate general Eleanor Sharpston told the Court of Justice of the EU on Wednesday that Malta's legislation, which permits trapping of finch species, is against EU law. Trapping the birds is a tradition on the Mediterranean island, but forbidden under the EU Birds Directive. The advocate general, whose advice the court generally accepts, said that Malta has not sufficiently justified why it should be exempt from the ban.