On Wednesday, Belgium’s Environment Ministers, from both N-VA and Ecolo parties, expressed their satisfaction with the EU’s plan to restore natural ecosystems, which was approved in the European Parliament.
The federal, Walloon, Brussels and Flemish Environment Ministers had failed to agree on the nature restoration law in the past, notably due to Flanders' opposition to the project. When an agreement on the law was discussed in the EU Council, Belgium had to abstain from the vote due to the lack of consensus.
"The European Parliament is following our point of view: the Commission’s proposal went too far, it needs to be adjusted and it will be," said Flemish Minister Zuhal Demir after the Parliament adoption.
"Negotiations will go to trialogue (Parliament, Council and Commission, editor’s note) in order to enact a good and reasonable nature restoration law. Flanders will not let nature restoration down."
Demir, of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, has been a vocal opponent of the law, much to the disappointment of Walloon Environment and Climate Ministers, who criticised her position on different occasions. Demir has subsequently softened her stance since the EU Council approved a more watered-down version of the nature restoration law.
Demir's N-VA party is part of the European Conservative and Reformists (ECR) group, which fiercely opposed the project. 56 out of 60 ECR lawmakers voted against the amended text, with one MEP abstaining and five voting in favour.
Belgium ranks last in natural habitats
Environment ministers of Belgium's Ecolo party welcomed Wednesday's vote in the European Parliament. The Ecolo party is affiliated with the Greens group in the European Parliament, which championed the proposal from the start.
Federal Minister Zakia Khattabi, Walloon Minister Céline Tellier and Brussels Minister Alain Maron welcomed the adoption.
"The alarming collapse of biodiversity is now threatening the viability of our planet. There has been an unprecedented decline in insect and bird populations and in a multitude of animal and plant species…" Minister Zakia Khattabi said in a press release.
"The report published at the end of 2020 by the European Environment Agency tells us that the majority of natural habitats in the European Union are in a poor state of conservation, but also that Belgium ranks lowest with less than 10% of natural habitats considered to be in good health."
Khattabi sees the law as essential for achieving the EU’s climate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
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Belgian MEPs voted largely in favour of the nature restoration law: 14 supported the law and 7 opposed it. Regional differences persist, however.
All Belgian Francophone MEPs supported the amended text of the law, while Flemish MEPs were split. Three of them approved the law on the final vote, with the rest rejecting it. The three Flemish MEPs who supported the law are also N-VA and ECR party members.
The Belgian Germanophone MEP also voted to reject the law.
