A qualified majority of EU member states gave the final green light to the nature restoration law at a Council meeting in Luxembourg, marking the final step for one of the most controversial files of the Green Deal.
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European Union member states gave their final agreement on Monday to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-member Union.
After surviving a very close vote by lawmakers last summer, the “nature restoration plan” faced opposition from several member states for monthsamid ongoing protests by farmers that contributed to the bill’s impasse.
The law, which aims to restore ecosystems, species and habitats in the EU, was finally adopted at a meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg, after gaining the necessary support from a qualified majority representative 15 of the 27 Member States and 65% of the EU population.
“This is the last step before the entry into force of this law,” declared the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.
The nature restoration plan is part of the European “Green Deal”, which aims to fix the most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets in the worldand to make the European Union the global reference point for all climate-related issues.
As part of this plan, Member States will need to achieve restoration targets for specific habitats and speciesin order to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas by 2030.
