The European Commission is to send a Letter of Formal Notice (first written warning) to Ireland for failing to inform the Commission on how they implemented the Community's Wild Birds Directive over the period 1996 to 1998.
Letters will also be sent to Finland, France, Greece and Italy,
The information should have been sent to the Commission in the form of a report by October 1999.
Commenting on the decisions, Environment Commissioner Ms Margot Wallstrom said: "At a time when protecting nature is a global issue, we need to have a proper community-wide picture of how wild birds are protected in practice. Most Member States are playing their part by sending reports, and I would urge the rest to quickly help us complete the picture".
The Wild Birds Directive is the Community's oldest piece of nature conservation legislation, and one of the most important. It creates a comprehensive scheme of protection for the Community's wild bird species, covering the conservation of the most important bird habitats as well as controls on hunting and other forms of exploitation.
It includes a requirement for member states to send a general report on implementation every three years. The latest report, covering the period January 1st January 1996 to December 31st 1998, became due in October, 1999.