Just after the celebration of the adoption of the Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament, EU Member States crushed the hopes of young people all over Europe by not achieving the necessary qualified majority to adopt the long-awaited Nature Restoration Law in Friday’s meeting of EU ambassadors.
As representatives of European youth, we express profound disappointment in Hungary’s last-minute reversal and unequivocally denounce the stance of Member States that have withheld support for the legislation, thus disregarding the concerns of young people.
OUR FUTURE IS BEING PUT AT STAKE BY POLITICALLY DRIVEN DECISIONS AND NATIONAL INTERESTS.
The youth has tirelessly advocated for the adoption of this pivotal legislation over the past three years. Witnessing its gradual erosion, compounded by further delays, is profoundly disheartening. The relentless disappearance of nature and species, coupled with any postponement in securing nature’s restoration, exacerbates the burdens thrust upon the youth, who bear the least responsibility for the prevailing environmental crises.
By perpetuating this impasse, the EU is undermining the principle of intergenerational equity to which it had agreed under the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15.
We implore the Belgian Presidency of the Council and President Ursula von der Leyen to shatter this deadlock, thereby upholding the integrity of EU institutions and duly considering the welfare of young (and future) European citizens.
