Too much bureaucracy

Another dispute over EU regulation

Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig infuriates the environmental organizations.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zeitungsfoto.at/Liebl Daniel, Daniel Scharinger)

The European Green Deal consists of many regulations that mean a lot of bureaucracy for farmers and businesses. After the wild political dispute about renaturation, another such EU regulation is now causing political debate in Austria. This time it is Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) who is causing displeasure.

Environmental protection organizations are alarmed. Greenpeace writes Totschnig an open letter. "The ÖVP is once again trying to torpedo an ordinance that has already been passed to protect nature and the climate," criticizes Ursula Bittner, spokesperson for Greenpeace Austria.

This concerns the deforestation regulation, which is a thorn in the side of Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP). According to Greenpeace, the EU Forest Protection Act is the world's first legislative initiative to end global deforestation. Totschnig criticized the high level of bureaucracy for foresters. However, the claim that forest owners in Austria have to register every tree they want to sell with a Latin name and provide its exact geo-coordinates is false, Greenpeace emphasized.

Regulation is part of the Green Deal
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is to be implemented in 2025 and was adopted almost unanimously in the European Parliament a year ago - after years of negotiations. A large number of MEPs from the European People's Party (EPP) also voted in favor. Since the beginning of the year, however, resistance has been forming against it, particularly from the timber industry and forest owners.

Supporters such as Franz Essl, Scientist of the Year 2022 and member of the management team of the Austrian Biodiversity Council, oppose it. "The EU Forest Protection Regulation is currently one of the greatest opportunities for the protection of our forests. Wood products from all regions must meet high standards before they can be traded in the EU. The small additional effort required by Austria's forest owners is disproportionate to the benefits for biodiversity. Because the damaging overexploitation of the world's forests can be stopped in this way."

University Professor Franz Essl(Bild: APA/Screenshot)

In an open letter, Greenpeace and university professor Essl call on Minister Totschnig to end his "blockade attitude". The EUDR must be implemented swiftly and with sufficient resources in Austria, they demand. Minister Totschnig reiterates his negative stance to the "Krone" and even goes one step further and wants to review the entire Green Deal for projects that cannot be implemented and renegotiate them.

"The new EU Commission is urgently called upon to subject the Green Deal to a fitness check. We need to know what impact the numerous legal acts, including those on renaturation and deforestation, have on our regions, and the interactions between the legal acts must also be examined. We need an action plan that works with incentives and not with ideology-driven bans," said Totschnig. In addition to correcting the course of the Green Deal, the new EU Commission must also deliver a clear commitment to a strong, productive and economically efficient Common Agricultural Policy.