Rapporteur César LUENA (S&D, ES) holds a press conference on EU Nature Restoration Law. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

press conference

LUENA, César (S&D, ES)

nature restoration law (T)

Press conference by César LUENA (S&D, ES), rapporteur on EU Nature Restoration Law

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/75081749/1709037424058_I253708Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, Good afternoon, first of all. And thank you very much indeed for coming along this afternoon. So some initial comments from me and then you can ask questions if you have anything you want to ask. I think this is historic progress. The European Union needs to have nature policy going beyond protection. So this is a real leap forward in this legislation, which is going to be implemented by 2030. And I think it's a very important step forward. It has been worth it.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, After 70 years of building Europe, this is something necessary. The 27 member states will have a common policy to restore ecosystems and to regenerate habitats in bad condition, improve biodiversity as well. And I think it is very important due to the essence of the Green Deal. The first part of that was to reduce greenhouse gases to combat climate change, but the second part of the Green Deal was to defend biodiversity. Initially, this law was going to be called the biodiversity law, then it was called the Nature Restoration Law. So this was the core idea. And I think it's very important that we have made this step forward with the Nature Restoration Law.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And another very important point is the institutional dynamics after the negotiations over the last few months and years, it was a very long period. Now, if Parliament had rejected this law today, well, I know what's been going on in the Council with one particular country and what they're doing, but this is a part of the community legislative procedure, and it would have been very bad news had Parliament rejected this. And I think this really gives us international leadership. We weren't at the Kunming conference a year ago, it was actually held in Canada, and the European Union, including the European Parliament, which attended the conference of the parties with theirs, really asking for these measures. And to be consistent, we need to push them in the European Union. So this now gives us credibility on the in the international arena.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, As rapporteur. I would like to express my thanks to all of the groups, all the political groups who have given their support to this, particularly the Liberals, the Greens, the Left. Thank you very much to them and their teams for all the work done. And I'd like to express my thanks to my group and the whole team working in the S&P group. I know it's a difficult day with difficult memories for our president. Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ. Thank you to the Parliament's services as well. It's been a lot of work. Thank you to the Commission, particularly, Commissioner Virginijus SINKEVIČIUS. A great deal of this law stemmed from the work done by Commissioners. And at the last stage of the trialogues, I'd like to thank the Spanish government. The Spanish socialist government, because it really gave a real boost to this law during his presidency.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, One more thing. I was surprised by the lack of loyalty of a part of the EPP. Those involved in the negotiations know that we really showed a great deal of flexibility in negotiations. We lowered ambitions. We wanted to have a consensus. We wanted to get a majority. But despite that, there were people from the EPP who went along with that and others who fell for the discourse of the far-right and voted against, including the Spanish EPP Members. And this is really playing into the hands of deniers. And it's very sad that the right has got involved in this or a part of the right has got involved in this, including the Spanish right.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Let me just say five points about this law. Non-deterioration of ecosystems is one principle. This focuses on efforts rather than outcomes. This is what the conservatives wanted. We've introduced an emergency brake in Article 22. There can be a suspension for a maximum of one year of nature restoration in agricultural ecosystems, in crisis situations, and the European Commission has competence there. Then, food security is a priority. This law, when it's reviewed, will still be a look at the impact on farming and fisheries. We're talking about Article 2033 and it will look at effects on the primary sector and energy transition takes priority over restoration.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, So I just want to mention those five points to show you how balanced this law is and to forestall any manipulations. It may be that people like it or dislike it. It's due to their electoral campaigns or whatever, but the law isn't most of the things that people have said it is. It isn't. There have been lies told, manipulations, because this is a well thought out law, too, for the recovery of ecosystems, to boost nature and to benefit the primary sector, the farmers and fishers.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, There isn't a problem with climate laws. There's a problem with the state of nature and with climate change. And we need to reverse the trend. The climate laws. Well, if only at this stage in the 21st century we didn't have to have a Nature Restoration Law that would mean that we haven't been causing such damage to nature. It would mean that 80% of habitats weren't damaged. It would mean that we didn't have any problem with a pollinator index. If we didn't have these problems, we wouldn't need this law. So we need this law because of climate change and because the state of nature is alarming.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And then just a couple more points before I open the floor for questions. Thank you very much to science, to the scientists who for years have been showing us the evidence and have allowed us to fight climate denial. We need to start with the part of the EPP, including the Spanish members. We still have work to do, but thank you to the scientific platforms who've provided all the data, who've made them available to the public so that we've been able to win over those who've been reluctant to carry out certain policies.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And I'd like to thank the NGOs, the non-governmental organisations and platforms. They've been committed to this right from the start and some are here. I hope to be able to speak to them, thank you to them for their educational work, for explaining things and this is extremely important as an S&D Member, I would urge them to continue with their work. Very often they may feel that it's not worth it, that it ends nowhere. But their work is extremely important. The role they play is very important and I urge them to continue with it.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And finally, I'd like to refer to young people. They're the ones who have shown that there's not a Plan B or a planet B. The only plan is the European Green Deal. That is Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, the European Green Deal. So I hope that the European Commission and the agency will be able to come up with guidelines as soon as possible with specific restoration measures so that within two years all Member States can present their restoration plans because that'll be the moment of truth, the actual implementation when this law is actually put into practice, when the 27 member States actually implement specific nature restoration measures in the 27 Member States. So that is what I wanted to say to you, and I'm very happy to answer any questions.

Q&A, Question regarding on how this version of the law differs from the Commission's original proposal and the original version of the ENVI Committee.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), César LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, -

Q&A, Question regarding on the legislation's impact on farmers and food security.

Q&amp;A, Question regarding on the similarities and differences between the Nature Restoration Law and the Commission proposal on sustainable use of plant protection products, which the Parliament rejected in November.

Q&A, Question regarding on the rapporteur's opinion on reopening files after trilogues. -