BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union achieved a small political breakthrough Tuesday when a majority of the 27 member states backed controversial plans for restoring nature across the continent.
The 27-nation EU has long been at the forefront of fighting climate change and protecting the environment but is struggling to push the latest piece of legislation through a long-winding legal procedure. Some member states and the biggest party in the legislature, the right-wing European People’s Party, turned against the proposed plans because of fear they would negatively affect the economy.
“It's been hard work from all parties involved,” said Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, who chaired the meeting. “It is a good day for nature,” she said.
The plans proposed by the EU’s executive commission set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species, with the aim by 2030 to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas.
For the next step, the file would go to the EU parliament where it would face a committee vote next Tuesday before going to the full plenary debate next month. Based on those results, the member states and legislators would seek to broker a final compromise text over the next year.
At stake is the EU's role as a guiding light to climate issues. It was instrumental in pushing through global rules aimed at containing climate change over the past years.
“We were among those pushing a global agenda towards higher ambition, and we’ve managed to accomplish that,” said EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius. “It was an extremely important message, also to the world, that we also can deliver at home.”
But countries like the Netherlands objected to parts of the proposals and a one-size-fits-all approach saying that could hurt national industries like farming, or hem nations into a legal straightjacket that could force them into decisions their electorate would strongly oppose.
Dutch Environment Minister Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink called it “micromanagement per square meter” that would ultimately hurt nature.
The nature restoration plan is part of a far bigger project for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050. It includes a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to sharply cutting transport emissions and reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gases.
The EU’s executive Commission said it wanted to keep all actions interlinked for optimal impact, which is why the nature restoration plans had to remain as fully intact as possible.
The European Commission says 81% of natural habitats are in poor condition in Europe.
Its proposal would set legally binding targets to reduce pesticide use by half by 2030 and ban the use of pesticides in public parks, playgrounds and schools. To ease the transition to alternative pest control methods, farmers would be able to use EU funds to cover the cost of the new requirements for five years.
Raf Casert, The Associated Press
