A “shameful” attitude bordering on climate “denial” yesterday led the European People’s Party (PPE, of which PSD and CDS-PP are part), along with Identity and Democracy (far right) and part of Renew Europe (liberals) to call for the to reject amendments to the Nature Restoration Act proposed by the European Commission (EC), which sent it to the European Parliament and ultimately ended up in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
Heard by DN, Socialist deputy Sara Cerdas – the only Portuguese member of the committee – says: “[A posição do PPE] it’s embarrassing. It’s a big disappointment. We had the opportunity here to set more ambition for the original proposal and yet the vote was on the side of the extreme right, of denial.The original text of the law provides for measures to restore between 20 and 30 percent of the land and sea area of the European Union (EU) by 2030. In addition, it also sets a target to restore all damaged ecosystems. by 2050. Despite the rejection of the improvement proposals, the law will be voted in plenary within two weeks. And on the side of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D, a group to which the PS belongs), it remains to be seen what the This is because the vote in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (where the proposed amendments to the text were rejected) was almost closed: 44 votes in favour, as many against. With the rules that prescribe that the diplomas are not passed in the event of a tie, the rejection was thus confirmed.
That is what another socialist source admits to DN lead can have consequences that are not yet visible. “Essentially, the united right – from the far right to the democratic right – have entered a wave of denial together. This will have consequences”, such as “a very big ax” in the European Ecological Pact, of which “Nature Restoration Law is a fundamental pillar”. “Objectively, no one can understand this maneuver by the PBM,” says the same source.
On the other side of the barricade, however, Lídia Pereira (elected by the PSD, deputy in the Environment Committee, in the European Parliament) refuses the label of denial. “The PPE is not against nature restoration. On the contrary. The EPP opposes this proposal from the European Commission, which has good intentions, but generally represents bad decisionsIn other words: “It is a proposal made against farmers, against fishermen, against consumers, against national and European competitiveness. It was desirable that the proposal be revised. This ignored the views of various sectors, such as agriculture and fisheries. Nor does it take into account the war factor, which is at the root of the price increase. AND, moreover, it puts people in the background. The study it was based on is also empty.”
With the vote in plenary taking place in two weeks, “there will now be a series of amendments that will be tabled for discussion in plenary”. Currently, the MEP acknowledges that she “does not see” the change in the PPE vote as likely. But he guarantees that the party “is not against nature restoration”. “We are in favor of care, preservation, not just this proposal put on the table by the European Commission”.
“It is necessary to dedramatize a little. The reactions are exaggerated. [PPE] we are on the side of nature and the environment, but we have to do things structurally, put people at the center of political action. You can’t make laws against people. We must argue in the light of current realities. Ideally, there would be another proposal on the table. It would make all the difference, even from a business point of view”, says Lidia Pereira.
Source: DN
