Is there no longer any need for EU environmental law? Guardian Reports
Approval of the environment law fizzled out at last week's EU leaders' summit. Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy opposed it. Hungary's step backwards has definitively reversed the situation. The Guardian article
EU laws on nature restoration appear to have been postponed indefinitely after some member states, including Hungary and Italy, withdrew their support for the legislation, writes the Guardian .
The laws, which have been two years in the making and are designed to reverse decades of damage to biodiversity on land and in waterways, were expected to be approved in a vote Monday. But the vote was shelved after it became clear that the legislation would not pass the final stage with the required majority.
“It is clear to everyone that there is a huge impasse. And it won't be easy to get out of it, considering the next elections,” said Dutch climate minister Rob Jetten, alluding to the European Parliament elections in June.
THE EU'S REVERSE MARCH ON THE ENVIRONMENT
The setback is the latest and probably biggest blow to the EU's environmental agenda in recent months as politicians decide how to respond to farmer protests across the bloc. As demonstrations continue – ahead of the June elections – many environmental regulations have been weakened.
Spain's Environment Minister Teresa Ribera on Monday urged critics of the bill to support it, warning that the EU "cannot afford" to abandon its green ambitions.
Ribera said: “It would be extremely irresponsible to abandon the entire European green agenda. Europe cannot afford to abandon the green agenda, just as it cannot afford to let its ecosystems die or leave its system in poor condition, in a state of danger."
He added: “It would be extremely irresponsible… to listen to those who argue that the green agenda should slow down or take steps backwards.”
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW TESTED BY EU STATES
One diplomat said the bill had "very little" chance of being approved, as any substantial change to the text would require it to return to the European Parliament for a second reading, which is almost impossible.
Hopes for the bill faded during last week's EU leaders' summit. Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy opposed it, but the bill still had a slim majority. Then Hungary turned the tables, indicating that it would not support the law, even though Viktor Orbán's MEPs had supported its passage to the European Parliament. Austria, Belgium, Finland and Poland have said they will abstain.
A representative of a member state that does not support the law said Monday that nothing will change his mind. “We cannot say to our farmers: 'We got everything you asked for' in terms of concessions from Brussels one day and reintroduce burdens on farmers the next.”
THE WEIGHT OF FARMERS' REQUESTS
If passed, the laws would mean that work to reverse the destruction of biodiversity on 20% of member states' lands and waterways would have to begin by the end of the decade. The law has come under fierce opposition from political parties across the bloc, which are struggling to contain the rise of the radical right.
EU leaders have sought to allay farmers' concerns, announcing delays on wasteland rules and supply chain support to combat exploitation by supermarkets seeking to keep costs low for consumers.
“The agricultural sector is very important, not only in Hungary, but throughout Europe,” Hungarian State Secretary for the Environment Anikó Raisz told Reuters on Monday.
After last week's EU leaders' summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged politicians to see the economic growth potential that would come from environmental laws, which include packages to promote green energy from solar systems and wind turbines.
“We must not take the European Green Deal as a scapegoat. On the contrary, it is the step forward to modernize our economy,” he declared.
(Excerpt from the foreign press review edited by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/per-lue-la-legge-sullambiente-non-sha-piu-da-fare/ on Mon, 01 Apr 2024 05:49:45 +0000.