The European Union's agriculture ministers are calling on Members of the European Parliament to ensure that the main burden of the Nature Restoration Regulation does not fall on agriculture and forestry.

"Under the European Commission's plans, farmers, foresters and fishermen would have to bear the main burden and the costs of restoring agricultural, forest (that is, terrestrial) and marine areas. We firmly reject this," Baden-Württemberg's Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Peter Hauk (Peter Hauk), announced in February. In February 2024, at a plenary sitting of the European Parliament, Members voted on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on nature restoration, which has a direct and far-reaching impact on agriculture, forestry and fisheries both in Germany and across the European Union.

For this reason Baden-Württemberg's Minister Peter Hauk, who is at the same time the representative of the German federal states' agriculture ministries, has joined forces with the agriculture ministers of Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein, setting out their position in a joint letter to Members of the European Parliament that calls on them to reject the Nature Restoration Regulation in the forthcoming final vote at the European Parliament's plenary sitting.

A threat that creates competitive disadvantages

The compromise reached in the trilogue is complicated and unclear in terms of its structure and funding. For example, the decision on how measures are organised and which areas are selected is largely left to the member states. "The unresolved questions about implementing the measures conceal a considerable risk of uneven application. It must be stressed that this also creates competitive disadvantages within the European Union at the same time," Peter Hauk emphasises.

There is no adequate funding for the necessary nature restoration measures, which according to the European Commission's assessment will cost at least 154 billion euros. Given the budgetary situation in Germany and the restrictions that German agriculture has already had to accept, no funding possibilities are apparent in the national budget either. There is a risk that farmers will have to pay themselves for the "nature restoration" of farmland and for the resulting yield losses. "Our greatest concern is the threat to the productivity and international competitiveness of our agriculture," said Mr Hauk.

Farmers and foresters need strong support

"We need a modern and internationally competitive agricultural sector. Our farmers and foresters already make an enormous contribution to climate protection and nature conservation. To achieve this, they need a genuine tailwind, not additional burdens, bureaucracy or unworkable requirements. In recent years the set of obligations imposed on farmers has grown ever larger. In addition, the social, climate policy, structural and legal requirements placed on family-owned farms are constantly increasing. The growth in the number of requirements is felt particularly keenly from the federal government and the European Union. "The results of the trilogue negotiations on the nature restoration regulation are not adequate to avoid further burdens on agriculture. On the contrary, the already excessive bureaucracy for farmers would be increased," Peter Hauk pointed out.

Baden-Württemberg's Act on the Promotion of Biodiversity is already implementing far-reaching biodiversity targets with great success. Agriculture, forestry, nature conservation and species conservation go hand in hand. "These targets, their implementation and their acceptance must not be jeopardised by the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. What is more, with the act on the promotion of biodiversity we are also addressing the goals of the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. We are doing so without the pressure or burdens created by Brussels regulations or directives," Mr Hauk pointed out.

The largest cities are Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Ulm. The Rhine and the Danube flow through Baden-Württemberg. Here lies the mountainous region of the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), where forestry is well developed.

Although Baden-Württemberg has relatively few natural resources compared with other German regions, this federal state is one of the wealthiest and most prosperous regions in Europe, and historically its unemployment rate has been low overall. The state's economic performance is based on its well-developed infrastructure and profits from it.