The Nature Restoration Law has been passed by a vote of the plenary session of the European Parliament today (Tuesday, February 27).
The vote, on a compromise position agreed between negotiators from the parliament and the Council of the EU last November, saw 329 MEPs vote in favour and 275 vote against, with 24 abstentions.
The council will now formally decide whether to adopt the law.
It is understood that the council will make that decision towards the end of March. It is expected that the council will adopt the law, which will be its final hurdle to official adoption by the EU.
The highly controversial law was originally proposed by the European Commission in June 2022.
It has seen near universal criticism from farm organisations in Ireland and abroad, who are concerned that it will see large swathes of land removed from agriculture. On the other side, environmental groups firmly back the law as they see it as necessary to secure biodiversity.
Farm organisations have raised concerns over the impact it may have on payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as well as food production, and believe that it will enhance restrictions on farmers already in place under the Natura 2000 land designations.
The law’s proponents say that its measures will be voluntary for farmers, and that they won’t have to take land out of production.
The text of the law sets targets to restore 30% of drained peatlands under agricultural use by 2030, 40% by 2040 and 50% by 2050. Drained peatland under agricultural use is just one of the land types on which “restoration measures” will be required.
To improve biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems, EU countries will have to make progress in two of the following three indicators: the grassland butterfly index; the share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features; the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soil.
Measures to increase the common farmland bird index must also be taken as birds are good indicators of the overall state of biodiversity.
Stay tuned to Agriland for reaction to the passage of the Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament…