Brussels vote cancelled after it became clear law would not pass final stage with majority vote

The EU’s nature restoration laws appear on the verge of collapse after eight member states, including Hungary and Italy, withdrew support for the legislation.

The laws, which have been two years in the making and are designed to reverse decades of damage to wildlife on land and in waterways, were supposed to be rubber-stamped in a vote on Monday.

But instead the vote was shelved after it became apparent the legislation would not pass its final stage with the majority required. Sources say there was “just 1%” between those who would support it and those who would not, either by abstaining or voting against.

The European environment commissioner warned that shelving the bill indefinitely would destroy the EU’s reputation globally given it had led the way at the Cop15 biodiversity summit in Montreal in 2022.