BirdLife Malta is urging Robert Abela to help save the Nature Restoration Law by raising the issue with top EU officials. 

The eNGO said on Saturday it had sent an open letter to the Prime Minister asking for his intervention to help save the law - "a key pillar of the European Green Deal".

The proposed law is the first continent-wide, comprehensive law aiming for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s land and sea areas. Among others, it aims to restore specific habitats and species in at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030.

It was originally proposed in 2022 and was approved by the European Parliament in February of this year. But on Friday, during a meeting of EU Ambassadors, the file was reopened and blocked by some member states.

All Maltese MEPs have previously voted in favour of the law which, according to  BirdLife Europe, is "the most significant piece of nature legislation in the EU since the 1990s".

BirdLife Malta is now calling on Abela to urge the Belgian Presidency and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to ensure the proposed law is put back on the agenda and passed before the summer break.

In the letter, BirdLife noted that the electorate will be heading to the polls in June: “The voice of millions of citizens, the voice of the European Parliament itself is being silenced. This is unacceptable and not only threatens Europe’s credibility on environmental matters but also its democratic core”.