The approval process of the Nature Restoration Law, one of the symbolic measures of the European green agenda, has reached the final goal. Today, Monday 17 June, the EU Council adopted the regulation, putting an end to a stalemate of over two months. Austria’s vote was decisive, as with a last-minute change of heart it joined the bloc of countries in favor of the measure. The Italian government voted against the adoption, with the Minister of the Environment Gilberto Pichetto who had already criticized the adoption in the past. Nature restoration law and he said he was worried about the possible impact on the agricultural sector. Deputy Minister Vannia Gava was present at the Council today and explained Italy’s vote against as follows: «Although improvements have been introduced, the final agreement remains unsatisfactory for us. We cannot accept an increase in the economic and administrative burdens for the agricultural sector”
The negotiations, the approval and the stalemate
Today’s vote in the Council passed thanks to the favorable vote of 20 countries. Italy, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden voted against the measure, while Belgium abstained. The agreement between Parliament, Commission and EU Council on the law for nature restoration was reached in November 2023. In February 2024, the European Parliament approved the measure definitively and it was expected that the Council would do the same shortly later. The rethinking of Viktor Orbán’s Hungary instead created a stalemate in the European institutions, with the Belgian presidency finding itself without a majority capable of passing the regulation. The European elections contributed to further slowing down the discussion, with some countries fearing a political backlash ahead of the elections. Today’s EU Council broke the deadlock in the last meeting of the environment ministers before the rotating presidency passes from Belgium to Hungary.
What does the Nature restoration law
The peculiarity of Nature restoration law consists in the fact that it is a measure that aims not only to protect natural areas at risk, but also to restore areas that are already degraded. According to European Commission estimates, today 80% of European habitats are in a degraded condition. Under the regulation adopted today by the Council, EU countries will have to restore at least 20% of marine and terrestrial areas by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 90% by mid-century. According to Brussels, achieving these objectives will lead to not only environmental but also economic benefits. In fact, the community executive’s estimates say that every euro invested in the restoration of ecosystems will translate into at least 8 euros earned. The EU executive will monitor effective compliance with the regulation, and the Council has also asked it to present – within one year after the entry into force of the provision – a report including the economic resources available at community level to finance all required interventions.
A signal for the future of the Green Deal?
Today’s green light from the European institutions represents an important victory for supporters of the Green Deal, the package of measures for the environment and climate. There Nature Restoration Law it represents one of the pillars of this green agenda, but also one of the most divisive measures. “We are still on track to reverse the loss of biodiversity, let’s start working together now and show that the EU is still at the forefront”, exulted Virginius Sinkevicius, European Commissioner for the Environment, after today’s vote in the Council. “Far from the caricatures with which it has been described, this law will allow us to be stronger in the face of the impacts of climate change”, echoed Pascal Canfin, head of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament.
The Austrian government in chaos
Meanwhile, the EU Council’s green light for the Nature Restoration Law sends the Austrian government into a tailspin, whose favorable vote was decisive for the adoption of the measure. Chancellor Karl Nehmanner has announced that he will file an annulment action before the European Court of Justice. The reason? The vote of the Minister of the Environment, Leonore Gewessler (a member of the Greens within the coalition), goes against the will of the executive. According to the Austrian People’s Party, the minister acted “illegally” and the vote should therefore be annulled. In all likelihood, any appeal presented by Austria will not go far. The vote expressed by the Council is in fact legally binding and several sources in Brussels clarify that there can be no reversal with respect to the outcome of today’s vote.
