In a surprise vote, major European climate protection plan shelved following farmer protests

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — A major European Union plan to fight climate change and better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc has been indefinitely postponed , underscoring how farmers’ protests sweeping the continent influence politics ahead of the June EU parliamentary elections..Monday was supposed to be the day the member states gave their final approval to the plan. But what was to be a mere rubber stamp following months of proceedings through the EU’s institutional maze has now been indefinitely postponed. It could even be shelved forever. The bill aims for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, demanding short-term changes and sacrifices from all parts of society to reap the benefits in a generation.