Key EU nature restoration vote put on hold

 

Key EU nature restoration vote put on hold

 

Parliament’s ENVI committee will finish voting on contentious new rules later this month.

 

BY LOUISE GUILLOT

JUNE 15, 2023 12:55 PM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/envi-committee-puts-nature-restoration-vote-on-hold/

 

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament's environment committee Thursday ran out of time to agree its position on contentious new EU rules aimed at boosting nature restoration across the bloc.

 

MEPs will finish voting on the text at their next ENVI Committee meeting, currently scheduled to take place on June 26 or 27 in Brussels.

 

The meeting started with a blow to the conservative European People's Party, whose bid to reject the legislative proposal outright did not get a majority — the vote was tied with 44 in favor and 44 against — and was dismissed as a result.

 

Lawmakers proceeded to vote on the compromise amendments drafted by lead MEP César Luena from the Socialists & Democrats, as well as on individuals amendments filed by other MEPs.

 

Committee chair Pascal Canfin was forced to put the lengthy process on hold at 11:45 a.m., the official end-time of the committee meeting, and ask political groups to agree to delay a separate plenary vote schedule to start at noon. The groups voted in favor, buying the ENVI Committee an additional 15 minutes to continue voting on the amendments.

 

But that extra time wasn't enough to wrap up voting on the remaining amendments, forcing Canfin to close the meeting and postpone the rest of the vote.

 

The nature rules — a key part of the Green Deal — have come under fire from conservative MEPs and farmers' groups, who claim they threaten farmers’ livelihoods by potentially taking their land away and undermining food security — something scientists and the European Commission deny.