Austria to challenge new EU nature restoration law after climate minister votes in favor without coalition backing News
Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Austria to challenge new EU nature restoration law after climate minister votes in favor without coalition backing

Austria’s largest party announced Monday that it will challenge the newly passed Council of the European Union regulation seeking to restore EU ecosystems. The regulation was passed with the support of Austrian Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler.

In a letter addressed to the Belgian Prime Minister, the Chancellor of Austria claimed that Minister Gewessler was “not entitled to commit Austria to the Nature Restoration Regulation,” as this would be outside of the powers granted by Article 16(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Article 16 of the TEU states that national representatives at the council are authorized to commit their national government to policies. The chancellor believes that a consensus within the Austrian government is required before a Minister can support an EU law.

Minister Gewessler responded in a letter which stated that the chancellor’s claim has “no legal basis”. The Minister argued that there is no legal requirement for a consensus. Moreover, she highlighted that Ministers representing Austria at the EU do not need to acquire authorization from their national government to make individual decisions under national or EU law.

The People’s Party of Austria, which holds the most seats in the country’s parliament, stated that it would be challenging the legality of Climate Minister Gewessler’s support of the new law. Minister Gewessler is a member of the Green Party, which is in a governing coalition with the People’s Party. The People’s Party claims that the minister’s support of the new EU law is unconstitutional under Austrian law. They argue that the Austrian Constitutional Service “has made it clear that Minister Gewessler in the Council is bound by the uniform opinion of the country”. Christian Stocker, Secretary General of the People’s Party stated that the party will file a criminal complaint.

The People’s Party has been criticized by environmental group GLOBAL 2000 for allegedly conducting a disinformation campaign to stop the law from passing.

The nature restoration law seeks to implement measures to restore “at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea ecosystems by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.” These rules will obligate member states to submit national restoration plans which detail how they will deliver on targets.

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