The EU’s Nature Recovery Act is on the verge of collapse, with many member states, including Hungary and Italy, withdrawing support for it.
Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Rivera said it would be “grossly irresponsible” for countries to repeal a law that was two years in the making and aimed at reversing decades of damage to biodiversity on land and waterways. He said that there is.
But a vote at a summit of environment ministers in Brussels on Monday was called off after it became clear the bill would not pass the final stage with the required majority.
One diplomat said there was “very little” chance of the bill being passed at this point, as any major changes to its text would require it to go back to the European Parliament for a second reading, which would be nearly impossible. Stated.
The setback is not the first blow to the EU’s environmental agenda as policymakers decide how to respond to farmers’ protests. Many of the green rules have already been weakened as protests continue ahead of European elections in June.
“Abandoning Europe’s entire green agenda would be highly irresponsible. Europe simply cannot afford to let its own ecosystems die or leave systems in poor and dangerous conditions. “We cannot afford to abandon the green agenda,” Rivera said.
Spain suffered a record drought last year, and water levels in its southern reservoirs remain dangerously low well into the winter, leaving the country deeply concerned about the economic impact of the climate crisis.
“Just as the climate system doesn’t allow for recreational breaks, nature doesn’t allow for recreational breaks either.” is extremely irresponsible,” Rivera added.
Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten acknowledged increased political scrutiny ahead of the June vote. “With the European elections coming up, it will not be easy to get out of this position,” Jetten said of Natural Law, according to Reuters.
Hopes for the bill died at last week’s EU summit. Although Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy opposed it, the bill still received a narrow majority. Hungary subsequently took a stand, saying it would not support the bill, even though Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s members had supported its passage in the European Parliament. Austria, Belgium, Finland and Poland announced they would abstain.
One member state that does not support the bill said on Monday that it would do nothing to change its mind. “You can’t say to farmers one day, ‘We got everything you asked for’ in terms of concessions from Brussels, and then the next day put the burden back on them.”
If passed, the law would require Member States to begin reversing biodiversity destruction on 20% of their land and waterways by the end of 2010. This has been the target of fierce opposition by parties across the bloc fighting to stem the rise of the radical right.
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EU leaders sought to allay farmers’ concerns, announcing regulations on unused land and delays in supply chain support to combat exploitation by supermarkets seeking to keep costs down for consumers.
“The agricultural sector is a very important sector not only in Hungary but everywhere in Europe,” Hungarian Environment Secretary Aniko Rais told Reuters on Monday.
After last week’s EU summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged politicians to identify the potential for economic growth from environmental legislation, including a package to promote green energy from solar photovoltaics and wind turbines. urged home.
“We shouldn’t be part of the European Green Deal” [the package of EU environment laws] “Not as a scapegoat, but on the contrary as a step towards modernizing the economy,” she said.
