Introduction
Cumulative surface area of the Natura 2000 network from 1993 to 2015
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/fitness_check/docs/nature_fitness_check.pdf., p. 24
Further, the Natura 2000 barometer showed that there are large differences between Member States in the proportion of their terrestrial environment included in Natura 2000, ranging from 38% of Slovenia’s land area designated and 35% of Bulgaria down to 8% in Denmark and the United Kingdom. This is in part due to the amount of natural and semi-natural habitat that each country hosts.
The enlargement of the European Union in 2004, 
2007 and 2013 brought amendments to these two legal instruments. On the one hand, new typical and endangered species and habitats in the new Member States have been added to the annexes, with a limited number of geographic exceptions granted. But these enlargements also brought an amazing richness in nature and wildlife. The new Member States still host species and habitat types that have nearly vanished from Western Europe.