The EU intended to do this Nature Restoration Act the goal of restoring at least 20% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, and all ecosystems that need it by 2050
The approval of the EU Nature Restoration Actwhich aims to protect biodiversity and restore the continent’s ecosystems, remained up in the air after Hungary joined the group of critical countries on Mondaymaking it impossible for a majority to approve it.
Loose Environment ministers should have put the final seal on the regulations this Mondaybut the dossier, which has already caused reluctance among seven other governments, has been blocked pending new work that finds a way out of the text.
This law It was not on the agenda of the meetinginitially dedicated to other projects in the field of waste management or microplastics, but that was it including the Belgian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU this semesterto make visible at political level the positions of each of the Member States.
They are overturning the nature restoration law
During a public debate, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, deeply criticized the regulatory ‘deadlock’ and warned that sends a “disastrous signal” to the rest of the world that damages the credibility of community institutions.
“I am They are deeply concerned, not only about the political consequences of not concluding this important agreementbut also because of the disastrous signal we would send on the credibility of our institutions,” he told sector ministers.
«The EU will lack the most important instrument to fulfill its obligations‘, he criticized before pointing out that the club risks attending the COP16 on biodiversity in October ’empty-handed’.
Nature Restoration Act approved in the EP with a close vote
The law was approved by the European Parliament in a narrow vote two weeks ago overcame the rejection of the majority of the European People’s Party (EPP) and also had a fragile balance between Member States, as seven of them had problems with the provisional agreement.
The group formed by Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Belgium and Italy did not have enough power to block the law at the time.but the change in Budapest has been enough to prevent a qualified majority in favor.
The State Secretary for the Environment HungaryAniló Raisz, has defended that the Nature protection is a national competence, that its application entails higher costs and that it is necessary to seek greater support for the law from the agricultural sector.
«We cannot accept more economic and administrative burdens on the agricultural sectorwe cannot forget the situation he is in,” justified the Italian Deputy Minister of the EnvironmentVanna Gava, while Finland also referred to its costs and Austria pointed to the rejection of some of its states.
Countries such as Germany, France, Portugal, Estonia, Denmark and Ireland intervened in favor of the law.whose representative strongly criticized the blockade, stating that it is a “disgrace” and a “disgrace” for the EU.
Spain, in favor of the nature restoration law
The Spanish Vice President of Ecological Transition, Teresa Riberahas emphasized that “Only a good conservation status of ecosystems is a guarantee for almost all activities.» and has also warned that the EU’s credibility would be ‘severely damaged’ if it does not move forward with this file.
«I cannot imagine that Europe can drop such an initiative at this stage of the game“He made a comment to the rest of the ministers, criticizing the fact that some governments are blocking agreements already in place.
After the ministerial meeting, the The Belgian presidency has assured that it will work “hard” in the coming weeks “to find possible solutions” that will allow this semester to unblock a law that he says “is still alive.”