EPP’s Manfred Weber vows to vote down EU nature
law
Weber also suggested he wants to harness the momentum
to pump the brakes on all new green laws.
BY JAKOB
HANKE VELA
JUNE 27,
2023 8:48 AM CET
European
People's Party MEPs will vote against the EU's Nature Restoration Law in the
European Parliament's environment committee Tuesday, EPP chief Manfred Weber
confirmed to POLITICO.
Speaking to
Brussels Playbook, Weber argued that the law risks higher food prices and
threatens farmers’ livelihoods and global food supplies in times of war. “To
push through a law now, which will lead to lower [food] production, also
according to the Commission, is not the right time … The EPP will vote against
the bill … we need a new proposal to address the concerns,” he said.
The law
sets a target for vegetation that supports biodiversity to cover 10 percent of
the EU’s farming territory by 2030 — which would force the reconversion of some
arable land into forests, orchards or ditches.
While EU
countries voted in favor of the law, the majority was thin, with Belgian Prime
Minister Alexander De Croo saying he wants to “hit the pause button” on the
legislation. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar argued some of the targets “go too
far." Similar concerns were echoed by the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria,
Romania and Poland, among others.
But the
renewables industry, scientists and the U.N. Environment Program, among others,
accuse the EPP of peddling misinformation and false claims about the law.
Supporters argue restoring land does not mean that economic activity cannot
take place there — those areas could house fruit-producing orchards, for
example. On coasts, offshore wind projects can create artificial reefs. Even
some industry lobbies such as WindEurope back the law.
Weber’s EPP
has indicated it has the backing of other right-wing parties and parts of the
liberal Renew Europe group in the Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public
Health and Food Safety (ENVI) vote. The EPP is betting that if it manages to
topple the law on Tuesday in ENVI, that would kill it entirely, given two other
committees have already voted against it.
Weber also
suggested he wants to harness the momentum to slam the brakes on all new green
laws, and “rebalance” EU policy to focus on industry, arguing Europe may
already have gone too far and will start feeling the economic consequences of
being “more ambitious” on its green legislation than the rest of the world.
EPP heads
of state and government will meet on Thursday to prepare for this week's
European Council summit, discuss the moratorium, “and demand that we now put
competitiveness in the center in the next few months, especially for the next
legislative period,” Weber said.
MEPs in the
environment committee will start voting on the law around 10:30 a.m.
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