At the National Council on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Norbert Todsnik (ÖVP) again spoke out against the EU reform law. With this in mind, the environmental protection organization “Greenpeace” has called for a boycott of land and nature conservation laws, drawing attention to the record high urban sprawl in the country, which is harming the environment.
Dotznick believes that Austrian Environment Minister Leonor Küssler (Greens) will reject the revival law at a meeting with her EU counterparts on Monday and thus “stick to the legal system”. He said this during Question Time in the National Assembly.
Differences between the Greens and the ÖVP
In the National Council, the rift between the coalition parties over the EU reform bill was once again evident. Green MP Ulrike Maria Böker appealed to Totschnig to support the legislation. The Minister of Agriculture continues to reject it, citing federal states that have uniformly rejected it. He reminded Kevesler that he was bound by this vote. In any case, according to the ÖVP’s legal opinion, the climate minister is not allowed to agree without a government partner. However, Keusler disagrees.
On the opposition side, the FPÖ was asked if it would like to sack the weather minister if the referendum is approved. At that time, the Minister of Agriculture emphasized that he is confident that he will act according to the law.
Todznik also justified the rejection of EU legislation on nature restoration with “historical perspective”. Too much decentralization can have negative consequences for agriculture.
Greenpeace calls for an end to the blockade
The presentation of a new study on Thursday showed that the rate of urban sprawl in Austria increased fivefold between 1975 and 2020, prompting Greenpeace to finally implement soil protection laws. It also includes the EU Renaissance Act and is said to require the ÖVP federal states to finally abandon their permanent blockade.
“Healthy soils and intact nature are essential to mitigate the effects of climate crisis such as floods and heat waves. Due to urban sprawl, places are becoming increasingly degraded and large areas are being sealed off – examples of this are commercial areas. And shopping centers on green lawns on the outskirts of the city. This wasteful use is no longer ours. You can’t buy valuable soil,” says Greenpeace soil conservation expert Melanie Ebner. In Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Burgenland, the endless resources of land are especially wastefully used.
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