The EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) finishes voting on a draft regulation to introduce legally binding EU targets to restore Europe's damaged ecosystems - forests and agricultural land to urban areas, rivers and marine habitats - by 2050. No majority in ENVI Committee is secured for the law as amended (44 votes in favor and 44 votes against). The Committee will hence table to plenary the proposal to reject the Commission’s proposal. César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, gives a statement right after the vote.

Brussels

statement

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

CANFIN, Pascal (Renew, FR)

LUENA, César (S&D, ES)

European Green Deal (T)

Delivery EE2024 (T)

nature restoration law (T)

Nature Restoration Law: statement by César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur - ENVI Committee

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&#233;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, Well, we have achieved the most important thing, which was to stop the rejection of this proposal. That the right, with the PP as an accomplice, have been plotting for a long time, after having succeeded in the Fisheries and Agriculture Commissions. But the Committee on the Environment has failed to do so. On the contrary, we guarantee that this law will go to the plenary session in July and that we can discuss and address it. I would have liked it, that's true to have kept a report. It couldn't be. We tried. We tried. But the rules say that in that case there are no reports. Okay, we're going to the plenary session. I am very optimistic. It has been relatively easy to find agreements from the programmatic and ideological point of view. It was easy.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, What has been difficult is to face this new denial of the PP. I want to remind you that this proposal is from the European Commission and that the European Commission is chaired by Ursula Von Der Leyen, party partner of Manfred Weber, who is the main driver of this change in the PP to get out of the Green Deal. Therefore, my reaction is certainly joy. They have not succeeded in getting this proposal out of the parliamentary process. On the contrary, and after the Council's position last week, I think we have good expectations to be able to reach a majority in three weeks and move this law forward and that the negotiation of the trilogues will then continue.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, The next step is to continue negotiating and to continue to defend the restoration of nature. During these months, scientists, young people, especially young people, and from here I send them a thought, but above all a token of gratitude. They tell us that this law is necessary. 81% of the habitats are in the state that is quite degraded. There is a species extinction crisis. 70% of the soils, also degraded, have almost disappeared. Therefore, we need to continue negotiating. I'm going to reach out to all the groups. I want to thank from here, especially the left, the liberals, the greens, who have been so strong in this agreement, but I reach out to the rest of the political groups and especially the PP, to come home. To return home is to return to European Green Deal.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, What we have seen today is that in Agriculture and Fisheries they had majorities, but in the Environment Committee we have stopped them and therefore that makes a change. That changes the whole dynamic that we now had in Parliament and what I have is the expectation of being able to add a majority based mainly on those four political groups that have made this pact. But why not with more deputies also from the popular ranks who will be welcome? Therefore, I have that confidence and I also have the confidence that at some point Ursula von der Leyen can prevail or be able to convince Manfred Weber to withdraw this strategy.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, If we waste more time restoring nature, we lose the future. I think you have seen a report from the Court of Auditors that it has published since yesterday where it says that we are not doing enough, especially in terms of investment to comply with the Fit for 55 package. We are not doing enough. Those who evaluate us already say so, the Court of Auditors. Therefore, with all that, I am confident that in Strasbourg, a majority of parliamentarians who are here to legislate in the present, but thinking about the future, I believe that we will be able to achieve that majority. And today's data is pretty good. It's not true that we didn't go beyond 44 votes, but they didn't go beyond 44 votes, so.