European Parliament gives first green light to ecosystem restoration project

Europe 1 with AFP 15:50 pm, July 12, 2023

The European Parliament on Wednesday gave the first green light to the draft law on the restoration of ecosystems, a flagship text of the EU Green Deal proposed by Brussels that was opposed by right-wing and far-right lawmakers. This legislation aims to impose binding targets on States to restore land and marine spaces damaged by pollution or intensive exploitation, in order to preserve biodiversity. MEPs will now have to negotiate the content with member states.

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"Good news for nature"

This is a failure for the conservatives of the EPP who had denounced a text harmful to agricultural production and economic activity. They had proposed a motion to reject the entire text, which was rejected by a narrow majority. The European Parliament, however, on Wednesday approved a version of the text "largely watered down" compared to the initial proposals of the European Commission, according to environmentalists. This position received 336 votes in favour (300 against, 13 abstentions).

The rapporteur of the text, Spanish MEP César Luena (S&D, left) hailed a "collective victory" and "good news for nature, member states and the EU itself". "We are at the rendezvous of our future," said MEP Pascal Canfin, chair of the Environment Committee, on Twitter. "The operation of the extreme right and Manfred Weber (the EPP president) has failed."

But a text "emptied of its substance"

However, the ambition of the text has been revised significantly downwards. Parliament's position is close to that adopted by the Member States on 20 June. "The text is totally emptied of its substance," said Anne Sander, EPP rapporteur for the text for the Agriculture Committee. But the conservative group believed that it had defended a line supported by many voters, especially from the agricultural world, hostile to environmental regulations that they consider excessive.

"I am of course disappointed, but our commitment has not been in vain. I will continue to defend the will of people in rural areas," said German conservative MEP Peter Liese. Green MEP Caroline Roose acknowledged a "bitter victory" and deplored the "obstruction of the right" leading to the adoption of a "largely watered down" version. The draft legislation aims to halt the decline of biodiversity and better counter climate change by requiring repairs to damaged ecosystems.

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70% of soils in poor health

Pollution, urbanization, intensive exploitation... according to Brussels, more than 80% of natural habitats in the EU are in a "poor or poor" conservation status (especially peatlands, dunes and grasslands), and up to 70% of soils are in poor health. The text proposed in mid-2022 by the European Commission would require the Twenty-Seven to introduce restoration measures by 2030 on 20% of land and marine spaces at EU level, then by 2050 on all areas that require it.

MEPs from the left and centre had denounced a political operation by EPP leader Manfred Weber, evoking a strategy of rapprochement with the far right. An electoral posture, according to them, one year before the European election in June 2024. The Conservatives, for their part, had ridiculed a poorly conceived and counterproductive text. "The European Parliament has voted in favour of legally binding targets to restore degraded natural areas," Greenpeace said, welcoming "the first piece of legislation in 30 years to protect biodiversity in the EU".