It is a text that has become a symbol of the left-right divide on the ecological question. The law for the restoration of nature, considered a major pillar of the European Green Deal, was finally adopted on Wednesday 12 July, after a long suspense.

This is a "great social victory" and "excellent news for nature", said Socialist MEP César Luena, rapporteur of the law.

Green MEP Karima Delli said it was "a huge relief and a serious warning to nature's looters".

Proposed by the Commission on 22 June, the law is a comprehensive project to restore ecosystems and nature across Europe, from seas and farmland to forests and urban areas.

For several weeks, it has crystallized the criticism of right-wing and far-right parliamentarians who castigate a threat to Europe's quest for autonomy. The latter failed to block it, by 12 votes, earlier in a first vote.

✅ ADOPTED!

The European Parliament says YES to the #NatureRestaurationLaw despite all the efforts of the right to block the text.

Thank you to all the scientists and young people who helped us! 💪🌍 #RestoreNature pic.twitter.com/dePMgtTGWn

— Pierre Larrouturou (@larrouturou) July 12, 2023

Turning the tide

For its supporters, the law on the restoration of nature is "an essential step to avoid the collapse of ecosystems and prevent the most serious effects of climate change and biodiversity loss".

It is based on an alarming observation: more than 80% of the EU's natural habitats are in a "poor or poor" conservation status, while biodiversity has declined in unprecedented times in recent decades, particularly for fish, amphibian and certain bird species.

A situation that can be explained by the effects of global warming, but also by the massive use of pesticides.

To reverse this trend, the law aims to restore 20% of the EU's terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 before extending these devices to all degraded ecosystems by 2050.

Economy versus climate?

While the text was the subject of a broad consensus among experts, the law on the restoration of nature sparked intense debates in the European Parliament – and thus underlined the persistent political divide on the climate issue.

Fiercely opposed to the text, the conservatives of the European People's Party (EPP), the leading force in the Strasbourg Parliament, had called for its complete rejection, highlighting the potential impact on agriculture, fisheries or renewable energies.

Critics fear that the proposed measures could lead to a decline in agricultural production but also to the dismantling of energy infrastructure in the EU, even as Europe seeks to strengthen its autonomy, after the Covid-19 pandemic and in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

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Caroline de Camaret, journalist at France 24 France24 ©

One point in particular has crystallized the criticism: the fact that 10% of agricultural land becomes "high diversity" areas dedicated to the planting of hedgerows, crop rotations or the planting of fruit trees. Although this measure is only indicative, some Conservative MEPs believe it will reduce agricultural production, endangering the EU's food resilience.

Accusing the left of organising the degrowth of Europe, the EPP has posed as a defender of farmers, unjustly targeted, according to them, by these reforms. "We have to work with the people concerned, not against them," said German MEP Peter Liese, who took part in a protest outside the Parliament alongside farmers' organisations on Tuesday.

The supporters of the text have for their part hammered a simple message: the defense of agriculture goes through the defense of nature, refuting a text "against anyone" but on the contrary allowing to protect the economy of the bloc.

"Having healthy ecosystems is a basic rule for economies to work," said César Luena, the rapporteur of the text. "No agriculture without nature, this is the peasant common sense that the demagogues of the extreme right and right seem to forget. Defending farmers means protecting the capacities of the Earth and the Earth," said Green MP and organic farmer Benoît Biteau.

No agriculture without nature, this is the peasant common sense that the demagogues of the extreme right and right seem to forget. To defend peasants is to protect the capacities of the Earth and the Earth.
#NoNatureNoFood #RestoreNature
Response to @Gilles_Lebreton, RN MP. 👇 pic.twitter.com/IvdxC5kmzU

— Benoît BITEAU (@BenoitBiteau) July 11, 2023

Half-hearted victory for the left

In the European Parliament, this bitter political battle may well leave its mark. Many left-wing MEPs castigated the rally of the right, part of the liberals of the Renew party as well as the far right behind the same banner, organizing a vote of rejection against the text to avoid it being debated. A posture castigated by some as an electoral maneuver, in the run-up to the European elections of 2024.

"If we want to fight against these alliances, we can only do it at the ballot box," insisted César Luena, the rapporteur of the text, believing that Parliament has played its role which consists in "enacting laws and not refusing them".

For MEPs in favour of the text, this victory puts an end to a long and heavy suspense with heavy stakes. Because if the vote of rejection was successful, "no alternative proposal" could have been proposed for lack of time between now and the elections, warned Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius.

However, the adoption of the text by 336 against 300 is only a first step. Several dozen amendments were made to the text, watering down its content. Two proposals in particular, on the creation of marine protected areas and the exclusion of giant industrial vessels from coastal waters, were not retained.

"The legislation has passed and that is now the main thing. The fight continues to do more and better!", tweeted MEP Raphaël Glucksmann after the vote.

The text now needs to be approved by the Environment Committee and then by the European Commission and member states to be enacted into law before the 2024 European elections.

2/3: Obviously, I regret the amendments that watered down the text and I would have liked a more ambitious law, especially on the ocean where concrete measures were at hand.

(@ClaireNouvian , @CamilleEtienne_ , @Bloom_FR ) pic.twitter.com/tOyfLrsAlx

— Raphael Glucksmann (@rglucks1) July 12, 2023

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