The Nature Restoration Law was approved earlier this year by the European Parliament, but did not secure the required qualified majority of the 27 EU countries after Hungary withdrew its support at the last minute. As a result, the proposal neither was rejected nor adopted, but got stuck in the administrative process.
According to unconfirmed reports, support from just one more country is needed to help Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius secure a majority for the law. Earlier the Belgian presidency stated that the topic would only return to the agenda if it was clear in advance that there was sufficient support. Apparently, such support now exists.
It is possible Hungary will reverse its earlier unexpected withdrawal. The country itself will hold the EU presidency for the next six months and would need to mend the damage it caused. This puts the Hungarian anti-EU Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest in a difficult position, as he recently has faced a rapidly rising new pro-European political party in his country, with a charismatic leader threatening to become the largest party overnight.
Moreover, a recent opinion poll shows a strong majority of Hungarians support the European Nature Restoration Law. The Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (MME) recently published a report on this. It revealed that at least three out of four citizens in six surveyed EU countries (which voted against the law) support the nature restoration law. The survey was conducted in the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, and the results are representative.
Interestingly, Hungarians support the nature restoration law far more than the Dutch. The highest support percentage was recorded in Italy (85%), followed by Hungary (83%), Poland (72%), Finland (70%), and then the Netherlands and Sweden (both 69%).
There is also a possibility that Austria will vote in favor next week at the Council of Ministers. Until now, Austria (like Belgium and Germany) has abstained from voting due to disagreements both between the governing parties at the national level and between regional states and the central government.
However, last month, the two Austrian states of Carinthia and Vienna withdrew their previous reservations. In these two states, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), which is in opposition in the national parliament, governs.
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) hinted that she wants to vote in favor of the law now that the nine Austrian states are no longer unanimously opposed. Her coalition partner, the Christian Democratic ÖVP, believes she is overstepping her authority. Parliamentary elections must be held in Austria by the end of September at the latest.