Kingmaker liberals pitch compromise deal on EU nature law

The European Parliament’s liberal Renew group is pitching itself as an honest broker to resolve a standoff on highly controversial new EU nature rules, which face a key vote in the plenary next week.

The proposed legislation — aimed at restoring key ecosystems across the bloc by the end of the decade — has come under heavy fire from conservative lawmakers, who claim the new rules endanger the livelihoods of farmers and risk undermining food security.

The European People’s Party, which has led the charge against the bill, failed to kill the legislation outright, but managed to rally enough MEPs to vote down the text in the Parliament’s agriculture, fisheries and environment committees.

The Renew group — which has been split on the issue, with some of its MEPs voting to reject the legislation — is now betting it can convince a majority of the Parliament’s lawmakers, including its own group, to back a new compromise ahead of the plenary vote next week.

Its proposal is closer to the joint position adopted by EU countries on the file last month, with several additional amendments, including one to boost funding for biodiversity restoration.

“Our analysis is that a certain number of EPP delegations … may be interested in voting in favor of the general approach in line with their government’s vote in the Council,” said Pascal Canfin, a member of the Renew group and chair of the environment committee.

“We know that by adopting this strategy, we give ourselves a chance of winning in plenary,” said Canfin.

Dirk Gotink, spokesperson for EPP leader Manfred Weber, countered that the “group is united and confident” the legislative proposal will be rejected next week. EPP lawmaker Sirpa Pietikäinen also stressed that “our group position remains to vote against” the text, but added that some members may be swayed by the compromise.

Weber has been accused of cracking the whip to ensure members voted down the proposal, substituting several regular ENVI committee members to ensure all of its MEPs voted against the proposal. That tactic won’t be available to him in the plenary vote.

“At this point it is almost impossible to see what is going to be the outcome,” Pietikäinen said.

Left-wing groups have already signaled their support for Renew’s proposal, despite it being less ambitious than they had hoped.

The Socialists & Democrats fully back the compromise, said César Luena, the lead MEP on the file whose report was voted down in a tight committee vote last week.

Renew’s move is “a good decision,” he told reporters Thursday. “Yes, it’s very pragmatic … but we need a position [of the Parliament] to start negotiation” with the Council, he argued.

Luena also said he feels “confident” the coalition of Renew, the Greens, The Left and the S&D have the numbers to win the vote next week. “We are very united in the strategy and the negotiation.”

The Greens support the compromise package, according to the group’s co-president, Terry Reintke. Finnish MEP Silvia Modig of The Left also confirmed her group backs the deal.

“Europe’s farmers have long been victims of insufficient nature protection, and are becoming victims of political power games,” said Modig, criticizing the EPP’s tactics. “The urgency of this moment should eventually become clear even to the EPP so they stop sawing off the branch we are all sitting on.”