The hard-fought Nature Restoration Law, a landmark text of the European Green Deal, is once again at risk of being derailed. This time, multiple sources have accused Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) of lobbying other Member States in an attempt to block the bill's approval.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) has refuted these allegations. "We exerted no pressure at any time. In any case, it wouldn't work as each country decides its own stance," he stated in response to questioning by Écolo MP Samuel Cogolati during a parliamentary assembly on Tuesday.
The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) was approved by the European Parliament in February and is due to be voted on by the European Council next week. This final step is normally a formality but De Croo's suspected lobbying throws the bill's entire future into doubt.
Without Belgian backing, the text fails to secure support from at least 65% of Member States, which is the required amount for it to pass through.
Last May, De Croo had called for a "pause" in the environmental legislation in question to protect industrial interests. Environmental stakeholders decry his continued attempts to prioritise the economy at the expense of other crucial areas.
"We must consider the health of our environment in conjunction with the health of our economy," Adeline Rochet of the Corporate Leader Group Europe within the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership told The Brussels Times. "A well-designed, nature-positive policy creates new economic opportunities, cuts emissions, enhances resilience towards climate disasters, and improves global health."
'Unprecedented'
De Croo's attempts to influence other Member States is significant because of Belgium's current role as President of the Council of the EU, where it is supposed to act as an honest broker between decision makers.
European Parliament voting session, with German MEP Terry Reintke pictured in the forefront wearing a "Restore Nature" shirt in support of the legislation. Credit: European Union / Philippe Stirnweiss
"If this is true, it is unprecedented," Groen chairman Jeremie Vaneeckhout told De Standaard. "A Prime Minister of a country that now chairs an important EU institution is lobbying against EU legislation. He is undermining his credibility as a politician by abusing his position in this way."
The Prime Minister reportedly "actively lobbied" several embassies, confirmed to De Standaard by several embassies off the record. However, De Croo asserted on Tuesday that "our country is continually consulted on all matters. Everyone wants to know our stance. It was the same for this case. But we never applied any pressure."
A rocky path
The NRL has arrived at its current form after months of bitter dispute between left and right-wing parties in the European Parliament. After much watering down, the text approved in February legislates that EU countries must restore at least 20% of habitat areas in poor condition by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.
Before this, the European People's Party (EPP) led what critics refer to as an opposition campaign characterised by disinformation and scaremongering. Despite achieving a version far from what was originally hoped for, environmental groups expressed satisfaction at the bill's approval in February.
However, the NRL's future again hangs in the balance with this latest development. Ahead of the Council vote next week, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are against the text, Belgium and Austria plan to abstain, and 20 countries are for it.
De Croo's activities have reportedly targeted Germany, Hungary and Romania. If any of these were to buckle, the bill would lose the 65% support it requires to enter into force.
De Croo himself does not believe that the bill has enough support to pass through.
