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The European Parliament, meeting in plenary in Strasbourg, approved with 336 votes in favour, 300 against and 13 abstentions the negotiating position on the regulation on the restoration of nature: the text which aims to make the protection of the environment and, precisely, the restoration of ecosystems degraded by climate change. In a previous vote, the Eurochamber itself had rejected the motion put forward by Pee and the right to reject the text of the law. Now legislative negotiations with the Council can begin, with the aim of obtaining the final green light before the vote in 2024.
The green light from the European Parliament, welcomed by a long applause from the groups in favor, was followed by the vote, equally favourable, which refers the proposal for a regulation to the Environment Committee: this is a formal passage which defines the negotiating position of the Eurochamber in view negotiations (trilogues) with the Council and the Commission.
Because the vote was delicate and the impacts on Parliament
The vote was expected above all for its political load, given the separation of part of the EPP from the “Ursula majority” formed so far with the Socialists, Liberals and Greens in the function of external support for the bloc. Some currents of the EPP have turned against a symbolic text for the so-called Green new deal, the ecological transition agenda elected by the von der Leyen Commission as one of the pillars of the legislature expiring next year. Hence the failed attempt to reject the text on the restoration of nature, opposed because it would contain too stringent rules on environmental parameters and above all the agricultural sector: one of the most delicate chapters in EU policies, thanks to one of the most influential lobbies active in the European institutions .
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The definitive ok to the text and the flop of its boycott do not, however, close the political aftermath in view of the alliances that are being defined for the 2024 vote. The Italian MEPs of the League, members of the sovereign family of Identity and Democracy, are already started the assault on the Ursula majority and on the ambivalent role of the EPP: “The belated repentance of the EPP – reads a note from the group – which, after sharing the agenda of Von der Leyen, Timmermans, the left and the Greens for four years he noticed the bad contents of their proposals, he highlighted all the splits and contradictions of a coalition that no longer exists and has never made sense to exist”.