Birdlife Europe, including Birdlife Malta, and Central Asia said they felt let down yesterday when the Council of EU ministers failed to proceed with the Nature Restoration Law.

Birdlife Malta has responded by issuing an open letter to Malta PM Robert Abela urging him to personally intervene and raise the issue with President Ursula von der Leyen and the Belgian Presidency so that the law may go forward.

The Nature Restoration Law was designed to restore the 80% of natural habitats in poor condition on land and sea. It also strives to limit global warming, in order to protect against potential natural disasters such as flooding and increase biodiversity. It forms part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

In the open letter, Darryl Grima and Mark Sultana, Birdlife Malta president and CEO respectively, claimed that what was meant to be a “formality” in passing the law yesterday, with the EU agreement being reached last November, was ultimately not approved. For Grima and Sultana, it shows that the EU is not dedicated to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and environmental sustainability.

They said that the environment has no borders in the EU and cannot be held hostage by a few countries who do not care about a “healthier EU”. Grima and Sultana said that this not only challenges the EU’s credibility on environmental matters but also its democratic core.

They said that they appreciate that Malta was in favour but they feel we can do more. They are highly concerned about these anti-green, populist attitudes especially with the fast approaching EU elections.

Birdlife Europe amongst other environmental NGOs said that unchecked last minute political manoeuvres by Hungary created a deadlock. These NGO’s also urged the Belgian presidency to act quickly on this matter to ensure the law passes before Summer Break.