The N-VA votes against the European Nature Restoration Law: “This goes too far”

The plenary session of the European Parliament approved the European Nature Restoration Law today. Through this law, which is part of the Green Deal, targets and obligations are imposed on the Member States for the restoration of nature and ecosystems in Europe. The N-VA delegation voted against the final text.  “We absolutely must invest in biodiversity and nature restoration, but this goes too far. The negative impact and uncertainties are too great,” says MEP Johan Van Overtveldt.

The text changed several times during the course of the procedure in terms of commitments and impact following negotiations between the Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission.

Unpredictable impact

Van Overtveldt saw improvements in the Parliament’s original position (July 2023) compared to the European Commission’s proposals that went much further, but points to the impact of what was finally approved. “The effects are manageable up to and including 2030 because they are limited to Natura 2000 areas. But after that, the impact becomes greater and unpredictable, particularly for agriculture and industry.  The scope becomes much broader at that time and will have an impact on the certainty of permits for agricultural enterprises and businesses in general.”

Legal problems

Johan Van Overtveldt also warns of legal problems: “There is a lot of uncertainty about the best efforts obligations and exactly what they mean for the Member States. This risks ending up in a legal quagmire, which will once again weigh on legal certainty.”

Relief in the European Council?

“The socio-economic impact is simply too great. That is why we could not possibly support this. Hopefully, the discussion in the European Council can bring some relief and reasonableness,” Van Overtveldt concludes.