Ripa: "The European Parliament speaks out in favor of nature conservation!"

(Strasbourg/12.07.2023) Today, the eagerly awaited vote on the "Nature Restoration Act" was on the agenda in the plenary session of the European Parliament. In the run-up to the vote, there was a fierce debate about the objectives of the law and how to achieve them. A majority of MEPs have now voted in favor of the restoration law, which Manuela Ripa, Member of the European Parliament for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP), welcomes. "In view of the massive loss of biodiversity, we now need bold steps to actively restore broken or damaged ecosystems in the EU. The European Parliament has now adopted a position on this. Today is therefore a good day for our ecosystems."

However, the ÖDP politician also emphasizes that she and her parliamentary group were in favour of even stricter rules. Unfortunately, the original text of the law was watered down. Nevertheless, it is important and good that the European Parliament has approved the law and that the Parliament can now enter the trilogue negotiations with the Council and Commission in a stronger position.

However, the MEP is outraged by the conservative EPP group, which also includes the CDU, CSU and Family Party, voting against the bill. Initially, the EPP was in favor of the law. However, due to the increasing success of radical right-wing parties seeking a "rollback" on ecological issues, the EPP suddenly turned against the law for opportunistic reasons: "The EPP has opposed the renaturation law with abstruse arguments that have nothing to do with the truth. For example, the claim that the law would hinder farmers in their work and threaten food safety is absolutely outrageous. Even many farmers' associations contradict this. In addition, 6000 scientists have called on the EPP to support the law. But for strategic reasons and the associated pandering of the EPP to very right-wing and populist parties, the conservatives now wanted to prevent a key law to tackle the nature and climate crisis - fortunately without success."

Manuela Ripa, whose party ÖDP uses the name affix "The Nature Conservation Party", points out that the renaturation law is not directed against farmers, but on the contrary helps to ensure their survival. After all, degraded soils, the loss of pollinators such as insects and birds and the increasing lack of water due to the climate crisis are the biggest threats to food security.

Manuela Ripa once again reminds us of the facts: "Four fifths of habitats in the EU are degraded. The law obliges Member States to green cities, restore drained peatlands, restore marine ecosystems and restore forests and rivers to their natural state. The law is therefore a key project of the Green Deal against species extinction and climate change. The EU is thus respecting the commitments it made both at the World Conference on Nature and at the various climate summits."

By saying no, the EPP is damaging its party colleague Ursula von der Leyen, who, as President of the EU Commission, helped get the Green Deal off the ground. On the other hand, we cannot be grateful enough that CSU member Manfred Weber is not at the head of the Commission today. "He has now definitively proven that the shoes of an EU Commission President are at least two sizes too big for the head of the EPP group. The CSU has once again shown that the "C" in its name is just folklore. Instead of preserving creation, the CDU and CSU are working against it. We as 'ÖDP-the nature conservation party', on the other hand, have campaigned in Bavaria with a referendum to save bees, and we are now doing the same to save nature at EU level," concluded the MEP.