The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council hopes for a “qualified majority” in favour of the European regulation on nature restoration, following Austria’s surprise U-turn this weekend.
Outgoing Belgian Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) spoke to reporters before chairing a meeting of 27 environment ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.
"We always hope for a qualified majority. It is also important for the credibility of the Council at this stage of the proceedings," stated Maron during his arrival in Luxembourg.
The European Parliament has already voted in favour of the regulation after the pre-agreement reached last November with member states. However, when adopting the text in March, Belgium noticed a decline in the qualified majority as Hungary decided to vote against it.
On Sunday, Austrian Environment Minister, Leonore Gewessler (Greens), changed Austria’s vote to support the text, reopening the prospect of achieving a qualified majority – at least 15 countries representing 65% of the EU population.
However, her decision triggered a political crisis with her government partner, the conservative ÖVP. The party claims that the minister’s vote is illegal and intends to challenge it before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Maron’s response was that the "vote is given by the minister at the table, in the hall, that’s the procedure. The rest is due to a controversy within Austria." Belgium, on the other hand, is amongst the countries that abstain due to a lack of support from Flanders.
