BREAKING NEWS: A Shift by Austria and Slovakia Allows the EU Council to Pass the Nature Restoration Law

Restoration of land and sea in the European Union (EU) has proved to be a divisive topic in more ways than one.

The Council of the EU on 17 June 2024 adopted the Nature Restoration Law, which aims to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. Its targets are legally binding.

The measure was approved after Austria and Slovakia shifted their positions to “yes,” making it possible to reach the required 65% qualified majority. The law was supposed to be rubberstamped in March but got delayed when Hungary backed out.

A total of 20 of the EU's 27 member states voted in favor of the regulation, representing 66.07% of the voting. Six member states voted against it: Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, and Sweden. Belgium abstained.

A Minister's Vote Stirs Controversy in Austria

The environmental ministers for the member states attending the Environment Council meeting were tasked with casting votes on behalf of their states. News agencies are reporting a disconnect between Austria's representative - Leonore Gewessler (Greens) - who voted in favor of the nature restoration law and the wishes of powerful members of her country's government.

Austria’s Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote to Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander de Croo that Austria planned to abstain from the vote citing “a uniform opinion of the Regional Governments (Bundesländer), binding for the Federal Government under Austrian constitutional law, as well as the lacking consensus within the Austrian Federal Government” as the reason for the abstention. In the letter dated 16 June 2024, Nehammer emphasized that Gewessler could not consent to the Nature Rrestoration Law as she is “not entitled to commit the Republic of Austria.”

Gewessler responded to Nehammer's reaction in her own letter to the Belgian PM, rejecting the chancellor's claims as “incorrect” and indicated they did not reflect the Austrian legal situation.

The Environment Council meeting was chaired by Alain Maron, the environment minister representing Belgium, which holds the current presidency of the council.

Ahead of the meeting, Maron told reporters that it was legal for Gewessler to vote for the measure despite her government's position. The Austrian chancellor disagrees.

Austrian Chancellor Confirms Move to Annul the Vote

Nehammer, who as chancellor is the head of Austria's government and also chairs the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), has confirmed he will seek annulment of the vote through the European Court of Justice, as reported by Kurier . The chancellor tweeted his opinion that the minister had violated the law.

Minister Gewessler told reporters earlier in the day that according to extensive legal expertise, her vote in favor of the Nature Restoration Law was legal.

The ÖVP has filed a criminal lawsuit against Gewessler for “abuse of office,” Euractiv reports, citing the party's secretary-general, Christian Stocker.

The current government, headed by Nehammer, is a coalition between the conservative ÖVP and the Greens. The country is scheduled to hold its next general election on 29 September for the next five-year term of its National Council, the lower house of parliament.

Other Environment Council Agenda Items

In other news from the meeting, EU ministers adopted general approaches (“political agreements”) on the Green Claims Directive, the Soil Monitoring Directive, and the revision of the Waste Framework Directive.

Ministers also held a policy debate on the European Commission communication on Europe's 2040 climate target and path to climate neutrality by 2050, which recommends reducing the EU's net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990.

Lastly, EU ministers are set to approve conclusions on the midterm review of the Eighth Environment Action Program, designed to provide guidance on the way forward to a green, just, and inclusive transition for a sustainable Europe.

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Editor's Note: The source for the voting result can be found here. “See detailed vote” under agenda item Nature Restoration Law.

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