News Politics
Nature restoration law in shambles
The vote of the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on the amended Nature Restoration Act ended again today in a stalemate (44 in favor and 44 against). So there is no majority for the proposal. The judgment is now up to the full European Parliament, which will probably vote on it in plenary in Strasbourg in mid-July.
Previously, the Nature Restoration Act could not count on the support of the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament. The law proposed by the European Commission on 22 June 2022 comes from European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, in the context of the Green Deal.
"The rejection has rarely been seen in the European Parliament," said MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP), who has been warns for the law, which, according to him, will also close areas outside Natura 2000. “We are going to have a hot summer,” he predicted at the beginning of this year. Today he says: "It must give EU Commissioner Timmermans a lot to think about that his bill only stumbles through the legislative procedure with such difficulty, even after his heavy political pressure on some MEPs."
Decision-making in Europe follows two tracks. In addition to the European Parliament, the ministers of the member states must also agree with each other and with parliament. Last week, a majority of EU environment ministers agreed on a watered-down version of the Nature Restoration Act. The Netherlands (represented by Minister Christianne van der Wal) opposed it, as did Sweden, Finland, Poland and Italy. The big question now is whether a majority of the European Parliament will support the proposal.
Linda van Eekeres
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