EU approves landmark bill to restore 20% of the bloc’s land and seas by 2030
EU lawmakers on Tuesday gave the final green light to a milestone bill aimed at protecting nature in the bloc, overriding conservative attempts to torpedo a law that has angered European farmers.
The rules are a central part of the EU’s ambitious environmental goals under the Green Deal – a set of laws aimed at helping the bloc meet its climate goals – but farmers say they threaten their livelihoods.
The legislation demands the European Union‘s 27 member states put in place measures to restore at least 20 percent of the bloc’s land and seas by 2030.
Farmers have a long list of grievances and have taken to the streets across Europe, clogging roads including in Brussels where EU institutions are based.
Protests continued on Tuesday in Spain, where farmers in the northeastern Catalonia region gathered near the French border. Meanwhile, thousands of Polish farmers demonstrated against the Green Deal and other gripes in Warsaw.
They lament what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.
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Source: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240227-eu-parliament-backs-contested-biodiversity-bill