At the last Environment Council under the Swedish Presidency in Luxembourg on Tuesday 20 June, the EU Member States’ environment and climate ministers reached a political agreement (“general approach”) on the Council’s proposal for a Nature Restoration Regulation, the flagship legislation of the “European Green Deal” presented a year ago as part of the EU’s 2030 biodiversity strategy.
The Swedish Presidency of the Council and the European Commission have welcomed this as a major step forward for nature, the European economy and the climate.
This regulation had been proposed to set legally binding targets for each ecosystem – forests, agricultural land, marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems – with a view to restoring at least 20% of the EU’s terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050 (see EUROPE 12977/17).
The Swedish Presidency’s draft compromise, which had been revised marginally ahead of the session and already detailed in our newsletter (see EUROPE 13203/10, 13198/10), was approved by a qualified majority subject to two minor editorial clarifications.
Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland and – paradox of the day – Sweden were unable to support the text. Austria abstained “with regret”, as it had not yet succeeded in convincing all levels of the federal state, said the Austrian minister.
The general approach, which constitutes the Council’s position for negotiating with the European Parliament when it is ready, reconciles ambitious objectives with flexibility in implementing the regulation, taking account of specific national, regional and local circumstances, including those of the outermost regions.
A good day for nature. “Today is a good day for nature. It is evident that the Presidency has been working hard to find the right balance and has listened carefully to all Member States who have had different concerns and remarks on the proposals. Hopefully, the final nature restoration law will allow us to rebuild a healthy level of biodiversity, fight climate change and meet our international commitments under the Kunming-Montreal agreement”, said Sweden’s Liberal Minister for Climate and the Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari. Biodiversity was one of the Swedish Presidency’s priorities for these six months (see EUROPE 13107/6). Pleased with this result, the outgoing President considers that the Council’s political agreement constitutes “a solid basis for negotiations with Parliament”.
“Very good news for nature”, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, echoed, saying that the Council’s position reflected the efforts made to ensure that the future regulation “can be implemented on the ground”. He assured the ministers that the Commission would help Member States such as Belgium and the Netherlands, which are small, densely populated countries with a federal structure.
A meeting document distributed during the session made two minor changes concerning renewable energies and financing.
Renewable energies. As previously provided for in the revised compromise, Article 5a specifies that the exemption from the obligation to assess that there are no less damaging alternatives for the planning, construction and operation of installations for the production of energy from renewable energy sources, their connection to the grid and the grid itself, as well as storage assets, applies if these installations are covered by a plan that has been the subject of a strategic environmental assessment – or an environmental impact assessment, under Directive 2011/92 – an element that was added to the text on Tuesday.
Financing. The Council’s position provides that the Commission will submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council within 12 months of the entry into force of the Regulation and in consultation with the Member States – a report which will contain an overview of the financial resources available at EU level, an assessment of the funding needs for implementation and an analysis to identify any funding gaps. The report will also include, where appropriate, and without prejudice to the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, proposals for appropriate measures, including financial measures, to meet the needs identified. An addition was made on Tuesday to refer to dedicated funding.
“A group of countries wants clarity. This is not a weakening of the proposal, but rather a request for reassurance that they will have the financial support they need”, commented the Commissioner on the sidelines of the session.
For the rest, the Council's position stipulates that Member States should adopt restoration measures to restore to good condition at least 30% of the habitats of terrestrial, coastal, freshwater and marine ecosystems that are not in good condition by 2030. This measure would apply to at least 30% of the total area of habitat types considered to be in poor condition, and not to the area of each habitat group, as initially proposed by the Commission.
However, Member States should set restoration measures for at least 60% by 2040 and for at least 90% by 2050 of the area of each habitat group that is not in good condition.
National nature restoration plans (NRPs) would be drawn up and implemented in stages, and the Commission would draw up a draft uniform format for these plans within three months of the regulation coming into force.
During the debate, all the ministers congratulated the Swedish Presidency and the previous Czech Presidency for the considerable efforts made to try and achieve a balance. Many delegations, such as Luxembourg, Denmark and France, stressed the importance of the EU sending a signal to the international community by showing that it is committed to setting an example for the implementation of the Montreal Agreement on a Global Framework for Biodiversity concluded in December 2022 at the COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (see EUROPE 13087/3).
Believing that, despite the concerns of some, “no one is in vital difficulties”, the Commission's executive vice-president responsible for the ‘Green Deal’, Frans Timmermans, said that the work carried out over the last few weeks provided “immense room to manoeuvre and all the flexibility that countries need”. He also assured that he was ready to discuss this flexibility and to help the Member States.
The Spanish minister, Teresa Ribera, whose country will hold the rotating Presidency of the Council from 1 July, described the ‘European Green Deal’ as “a model of prosperity that respects our planet”. Stressing that “the loss of biodiversity and pollution are terrible threats, because they undermine our societies and non-European partners”, she assured her colleagues that she would do her utmost to bring to a successful conclusion by the end of 2023 “a fundamental dossier” that she would manage “with balance to combine flexibility and ambition”.
Statements in the minutes. Poland, which was opposed to the Council’s political agreement, felt that the future regulation would change urban planning and people’s living conditions, and deplored the overly complicated objectives for agricultural ecosystems, as well as the insufficient funding compared to the specific fund it was calling for. A statement to this effect was entered in the minutes of the session.
Latvia, which supported the general approach, also expressed its concerns in a statement to the minutes. Malta, which rallied to the compromise, also tabled one concerning marine habitats, the very heavy burden linked to this regulation and the lack of financial resources.
The ‘saga’ vote in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee will continue on 27 June (see EUROPE 13202/1), before a plenary session vote in July.
See the general approach of the Council: https://aeur.eu/f/7ly (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)