The Nature Restoration Law has been adopted by the Council of the EU following a vote by member states’ environment ministers.
It means that the regulation has been ratified and will become law across the EU.
The vote, which was originally supposed to be held on March 25 but was postponed as a number of member states withdrew support for the law, was finally held today (Monday, June 17).
One member state, Austria, flipped its position to supporting the controversial law, allowing it to be passed by meeting the required qualified majority.
In a qualified majority, 15, or in some case 20, member states have to be in agreement, and those countries have to account for 65% of the EU’s population.
20 member states voted in favour, accounting for just over 66% of the EU’s population. Only six member states (Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden) voted against, while one, Belgium, abstained.
The law was ratified by the European Parliament in February, and it was thought that the Council of the EU would follow suit in March.
However, some member states withdrew support for the law at the last minute, meaning it would not reach the required qualified majority, resulting in the planned vote on March 25 being indefinitely postponed.
The law has been in limbo until today. However, that has now changed.
The law was included on the agenda of the Council of EU environment ministers meeting today as a topic for discussion, and while a vote had not been officially scheduled ahead of the meeting, the ministers decided to hold a vote as it appeared from today’s talks that it had sufficient support.
The text of the Nature Restoration Law law sets a target to restore 20% of all EU land by 2030, and all ecosystems that need restoration by 2050. This will include peatlands under agricultural use.
There is a specific target to restore 30% of drained peatlands under agricultural use by 2030, 40% by 2040 and 50% by 2050.
The law has been universally criticised by farm organisations and politicians with rural and farmer-based platforms, who claim it will take land out of production, impact farm payments, and add to the already heavy regulatory burden on farmers.
Environmental groups and ‘green’ politicians in Ireland and Europe, on the other hand, wholeheartedly support the law, claiming that it is necessary to reverse biodiversity loss and meet climate change mitigation targets.
The Irish government has continuously supported the law, with Green Party leader and Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, and his party colleague and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, recently writing to environment ministers in other member states to call on them to adopt the law at today’s meeting.