The EU Environment Council adopts the Nature Restoration Law. The EU member states have kept their commitments and, respecting the previous vote of the European Parliament, approved the Regulation on nature restoration with the necessary qualified majority. The law risked being rejected at the last stage in the Environment Council, due to opposition from Hungary. Austria’s vote was decisive which changed its previous position and allowed the definitive approval of the regulation for the restoration of the habitats of the European territory. Twenty votes in favor, one abstention and 6 votes against, including Italy.
The very long legislative process has therefore come to an end, passed by two votes in Parliament and the Trilogue agreements (the forum that brings together the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU), which gave the regulation its definitive form .
What does it predict
The new law provides for the restoration of at least 30% of threatened European habitats by 2030, at least 60% by 2040 and at least 90% by 2050. The works envisaged by the regulation will concern wetlands, rivers, coasts, sea, prairies, woods, agricultural environments, urban greenery, with a European nature restoration program as impressive as it is necessary.
The Austrian ‘case’
The Austrian Minister of the Environment, a member of the Greens Leonore Gewessler, risks legal action from the People’s Party with which she is in coalition in government (Oevp) for having supported in the EU Council – in disagreement with Vienna – the law on the restoration of nature, allowing its approval.
The general secretary of the Party, Christian Stocker, announced that a complaint will be filed for abuse of office, stating that the minister was responsible for a violation of the Constitution by voting in favor of the measure. “Leonore Gewessler put herself above the Constitution because she was incapable of acting according to the law due to her environmentalist ideology,” he said. Gewessler – she underlined – she is required to respect the objection raised to the law by the Austrian states, a veto however considered by Gewessler herself to be no longer valid.
The crisis, which is shaking the government, comes three months before the legislative elections on 29 September. But Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer ruled out dissolving the coalition with the Greens, despite the “breach of trust”: more important, Nehammer explained, is to lead the country to the autumn elections on 29 September in an orderly manner. The chancellor then reiterated the statements of the secretary general of the ÖVP, Christian Stocker, according to which an annulment appeal will be lodged with the European Court of Justice against the decision of the EU ministers.
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