Latest Vote on Nature Restoration Law Raises Significant Questions about Commission Approach

IFA President Tim Cullinan said the outcome in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee today on the proposed Nature Restoration Law (NRL) raises significant questions about how the EU Commission approached this piece of legislation.

The Committee failed to pass the proposed NRL and was deadlocked at 44-44 on the issue.

Speaking from Brussels, IFA Director of European Affairs Liam MacHale said that that the outcome was unprecedented and that while the proposal can still proceed to plenary it is time for the Commission to re-evaluate their proposal.

Tim Cullinan said that the proposal had now failed at three Parliament sub committees (Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment) and that the EU Commission failed to take on board the widespread concerns raised and did not do enough to allay the fears of farmers around the impact of the NRL.

“The Commission has to go back to the drawing board and revise its approach to what they want to do. Anything to do with land use cannot succeed without the backing of farmers,” he said.

IFA Environment Chair Paul O’Brien has co-ordinated COPA’s campaign in recent months which pointed out the problems with the NRL.

“Farmers recognise the role they can play in supporting nature and are already carrying out measures to do this. However, the lack of clarity on the potential impact of the proposed regulation on farmland and production is very worrying,” he said.

“It is vital that a full impact assessment is undertaken to quantify the area of farmland that will be affected to ensure the proposed targets are realistic and fair and are not detrimental to food production,” he said.

See here for the measures farmers are undertaking.