Canfin intentionally delayed vote to prevent rejection of Nature Restoration law

Ahead of today's meeting of Environment Ministers, the EPP Group calls on EU Member States to reject the planned Nature Restoration law. "Last Thursday's vote in Parliament's Environment Committee has shown that there is no majority for the law in the European Parliament. The vote was a slap in the face for European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. It is only because of the delaying tactics of the Chair of the Environment Committee, Pascal Canfin, that the final vote has not yet taken place. The Council should reject a law which is badly designed and has an uncertain impact", said Christine Schneider MEP, the EPP Group’s Chief Negotiator of the Nature Restoration law.

Schneider warned against the deliberate misrepresentation of last week's voting procedure by the Greens and the Socialists. "If a law proposal does not secure a majority of the votes cast in committee, then the proposal is rejected. The committee Chair abused his role and first delayed, then interrupted and finally postponed the vote on the entire law package, because he feared a rejection. In last week's vote, most of the amendments were tied. This would have led to a non-adoption in the final vote. The fact that Canfin delayed the final vote is manipulation. The last word has not yet been spoken", Schneider said.

Before the vote in Parliament's Environment Committee, the law had already been rejected by the Agriculture and Fisheries Committees.

"The debate on nature restoration is all about the discord of European Liberals. Renew Chairman Stéphane Séjourné should start listening to his Party boss Emmanuel Macron in Paris. We will watch closely how the Council votes today", stressed Schneider.

The final vote on the Nature Restoration law in Parliament's Environment Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 27 June. Plenary will most probably vote on 11 or 12 July.