The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) is urging MEPs to oppose the proposed EU Nature Restoration Law when it comes back before the EU Parliament for a final vote.
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher has expressed his dismay over the agreement arising from the trilogue negotiations between the EU Commission, EU Parliament and EU Council on the highly controversial law.
The proposal, put forward by the EU Commission in June 2022, aims to put measures in place to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
It sets specific, legally binding targets and obligations for nature restoration in each of the listed ecosystems — from agricultural land and forests to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems.
The deal still has to be endorsed and formally adopted by the parliament and council, after which the new law will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 20 days later.
ICSA
The ICSA president said that the strong view from the EU Parliament committees and plenary sessions has been “sidelined in favour of the EU Commission’s original proposals”.
“The EU Parliament position took out a lot of the more contentious proposals, particularly in Article 9, regarding re-wetting, but this view has been set aside in the negotiations between the commission, council and parliament.
“This now puts Irish MEPs who voted for the EU Parliament position in a very awkward position as the final document will revert to the EU Parliament, and they will be forced to make a decision on a regulation that is very far from the safeguards they claimed they obtained.
“While the targets for re-wetting are not as onerous as the original EU Commission proposal at a member state level, the fact remains that many farmers are horrified at the potential implications if they are forced to re-wet land or the knock-on impact of adjoining land, in state or other ownership being re-wetted,” Kelleher said.
Nature Restoration Law
The ICSA is also concerned about how nature restoration will be paid for.
“Under no circumstances can the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) be used. The reality is that in some cases, the Nature Restoration Law proposals have profound implications for the value and the viability of farms.
“This cannot be compensated by derisory sums paid on a short-term basis,” Kelleher said.
“ICSA is calling on MEPs to move to oppose this in the final plenary vote of the EU Parliament given that the agreed trilogue position of the parliament has all but been ignored.
“It must be recalled that two of the European Parliament committees outright opposed the proposal and that the only proposal capable of getting a majority in the parliament was barely passed and on the basis of significant modifications.
“It seems now that the commission does not respect the democratic mandate of the EU Parliament in its zeal for driving through the Green Deal with no balancing concern for food security,” the ICSA president said.