The EU’s nature restoration laws face a critical setback as eight member states, including Hungary and Italy, have withdrawn their support for the legislation.
These laws, aimed at undoing decades of harm to land and waterway wildlife, have been under development for two years and were set to undergo a final vote on Monday.
The vote on the legislation was postponed when it became evident that it wouldn’t garner the necessary majority for passage. Sources indicate that the margin was slim, with just a 1% difference between supporters and those opposing or abstaining.
The European environment commissioner cautioned that indefinitely shelving the bill would tarnish the EU’s global reputation, particularly after its leadership role at the Cop15 biodiversity summit in Montreal in 2022.
Virginijus Sinkevičius warned, “We risk going to Cop16 absolutely empty-handed,” expressing concern about the EU’s lack of progress on the legislation. He also highlighted the potential impact on the EU’s decision-making process, raising “serious questions and concerns” about its consistency and stability.
Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten echoed these sentiments, acknowledging the significant deadlock and emphasizing the challenge of resolving it amid the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.
The setback represents the latest and arguably most significant blow to the EU’s environmental agenda in recent months, coinciding with policymakers grappling with farmers’ protests across the bloc. Amid ongoing demonstrations and in anticipation of the June elections, many environmental regulations have been compromised.
Addressing the situation, Spain’s Environment Minister, Teresa Ribera, appealed to critics of the legislation, emphasizing the urgency of supporting it. Ribera underscored that the EU “cannot afford” to abandon its green ambitions, highlighting the critical need to uphold environmental integrity. She stressed that forsaking the green agenda would be “enormously irresponsible,” emphasizing the importance of preserving ecosystems and safeguarding the environment from deterioration.
Alain Maron, Belgium’s climate transition minister and the “honest broker” in negotiations as the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, expressed uncertainty regarding the reasons behind certain countries opposing the law. He indicated the possibility of a change in stance and vote among these nations.
Maron emphasized that the current situation is not conclusive, stating, “This is definitely not the end of the story.” He affirmed the presidency’s commitment to diligent efforts in the coming weeks to navigate the deadlock and reintroduce the legislation for adoption.
The Belgians are confronted with a challenge: significant alterations to the legislation would necessitate revisiting the European Parliament, which concludes its sessions before the EU elections in late April.
According to a diplomat, the bill faces bleak prospects as substantial revisions to the text would mandate a second reading in the European Parliament, a scenario deemed highly unlikely.
Hopes for the bill dwindled at the recent EU leaders’ summit. Although Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy expressed opposition, the bill still maintained a slim majority. However, Hungary’s stance shifted the balance as it signaled non-support for the legislation, despite Viktor Orbán’s MEPs previously backing its passage in the European Parliament. Austria, Belgium, Finland, and Poland have indicated they will abstain.
One member state, standing in opposition to the bill, reiterated on Monday that its position remained unchanged. “We can’t tell our farmers: ‘We got everything you asked for’ in terms of concessions from Brussels one day and reintroduce burdens for farmers the next.”
Contrary to this stance, Maron emphasized, “The farmers are fighting for fair income. This is their fight. They are not fighting against nature.”
If enacted, the legislation would necessitate efforts to reverse biodiversity destruction on 20% of member states’ land and waterways by the end of the decade. However, this objective has faced vehement opposition from political parties across the bloc, which are striving to counter the rise of the radical right.
In attempts to address farmers’ concerns, EU leaders have announced delays on rules for unused land and offered supply chain support to combat exploitation by supermarkets aiming to minimize costs for consumers.
Hungary’s state secretary for the environment, Anikó Raisz, emphasized the significance of the agricultural sector, stating, “The agricultural sector is a very important sector, not only in Hungary, but everywhere in Europe.”
