There is currently “no majority” for the EU’s proposed nature restoration law, a member-state official has said.
Speaking at the side of the EU summit on Friday, March 22, the official said that several member states, including Belgium, were getting in the way of a deal being reached.
When asked whether there remained a qualified majority within the EU Council for the measure, he responded: “Not to my knowledge.”
The comments follow reporting that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was looking to shoot down the proposal at the council this week.
Some have accused the PM of looking to oppose the law in the hopes of appeasing some of his electorate ahead of the Belgian federal elections, which will take place alongside the European Parliament elections in June.
De Croo’s government, which currently holds the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, had stated before Friday’s meeting that they viewed the law as no longer having sufficient support amongst member states.
“The [Belgian] EU presidency has today made a provisional assessment that there is no qualified majority at the moment,” he said a day before the summit.
The news follows rumours from earlier that De Croo would actively be campaigning to torpedo the European nature legislation, which would be an unseen move by the EU presidency.
A final failure of the contended and symbolic nature restoration law so close to the finish line is a painful blow for the Green parties and a stain on the Green Deal, the legislative crown jewel of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, another representative said that there had been no further discussion of the topic as of 1 pm CET.
Additional reporting from Peter Caddle
