This text requires in particular the establishment by 2030 of measures to restore ecosystems on 20% of land and marine areas.
Karl Nehammer on April 18, 2024 and Leonore Gewessler on December 20, 2021, in Brussels, Belgium. (AFP / LUDOVIC MARIN)
Austria will file an appeal to cancel the vote of its own Minister of the Environment in favor of the Green Deal, a text which requires the restoration of damaged ecosystems, the conservative Austrian chancellor said on Monday June 17.
“Austria will file an action for annulment before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU),” Karl Nehammer said in a statement,
the vote of Minister Leonore Gewessler not corresponding “to the will of the government” and therefore being judged “illegal”.
“No one is above the law,” he insisted.
His ÖVP party also has
file a complaint for “abuse of power” against the 46-year-old manager
. “It is unacceptable” that it “does not respect the legal provisions”, reacted Secretary General Christian Stocker.
Until now, the Alpine country abstained on this legislation due to divisions within the federal state. But Leonore Gewessler decided to ignore it in order to “send a signal”. “My conscience tells me unequivocally that
when the happiness of future generations is at stake
courageous decisions are necessary,” she explained after the vote by the 27 Environment Ministers in Luxembourg.
The text can come into force
According to the minister, “no government or party can ignore the interests of environmental protection and nature conservation.”
This about-face allowed the entry into force of this key text of the Green Deal, now supported by 20 States and which had already been validated by MEPs. The Belgian Alain Maron, whose country holds the presidency of the EU until the end of June, estimated that “it is the ministers around the table who express themselves”, referring the controversy to “internal quarrels” at the ‘Austria.
This dispute is the largest ever observed within
the unprecedented coalition formed by the right and the Greens since 2020.
But it is not surprising, given that the battle for the legislative elections, scheduled for the end of September, was launched the day after the European elections.
The conservatives are opposed to this legislation, frowned upon by their rural electorate which remains powerful and mobilized. The Greens, who want to promote their first stint in government, are instead defending crucial legislation in the face of climate change.
This text requires the establishment by 2030 of measures to restore ecosystems on 20% of land and marine spaces at EU level, and the restoration of at least 30% of habitats (wetlands, forests, etc.). .) in poor condition.
Other provisions aim to improve criteria measuring the health of forests, remove obstacles on waterways and stop the decline of bees.
The impact in rural areas sparked heated debates in the European Parliament last year and
fueled agricultural anger at the start of 2024
despite the vast flexibilities introduced.
