Regulation 1143/2014 has yet to curb the European Union’s invasive species crisis

Phillip Joschka Haubrock , Teun Everts, Ronaldo Sousa, Emili Garcia-Berthou, Ismael Soto Almena, Melina Kourantidou, Antonin Kouba, Stelios Katsanevakis Katsanevakis, J. Robert Britton

The European Union’s flagship legislation on invasive species, Regulation 1143/2014, was intended to deliver coordinated biosecurity across Member States. However, it continues to fall short of its ambitious goals as enforcement remains inconsistent, ecological priorities are often overridden by economic interests, taxonomic, geographic and ecosystem biases, and practical on-the-ground management is severely underfunded. Only 114 species are included in the list of species of Union concern, whereas over 13,000 non-native species are already established and new ones continue to arrive. Moreover, most of the few species listed continue to spread. Despite raising awareness, its reliance on a slow, politically burdened species list has limited its effectiveness, while adding new species every few years has become more of a symbolic gesture with questionable practical value. A shift toward proactive, science-based pathway management is therefore not only warranted but urgently needed to meet the EU’s ambitious biodiversity targets. We highlight key policy directions to facilitate this transition towards an improved management of biological invasions.