EU nature restoration law narrowly survives attack by conservative lawmakers

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

The European Union’s ambition to lead the way on ecological issues has avoided a major setback. The environment committee of the European Parliament voted by the thinnest margin on Thursday to reject a proposal that would have killed a draft law on restoring nature and lost species across the continent. The 88-member committee cast 44 votes against the motion submitted by the conservative European People’s Party and 44 in favor, leading to its defeat. Cheers and loud applause greeted the result but the future of the bill remains uncertain. The law proposed by the EU’s executive commission would set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species.