Vote cast by Green climate minister Leonor Gewessler triggered turmoil within the federal government, with Chancellor Karl Nehammer pushing a lawsuit against the member of his own coalition.
Austria’s U-turn on the biodiversity law unleashed havoc in the federal country culminating with the announcement today (June 17) of a lawsuit in front of the European Court of Justice by Chancellor Karl Nehammer against climate minister Leonor Gewessler.
Hailing from the Austrian People’s Party (APP), liberal-conservative Karl Nehammmer said Gewessler, a Green member of the ruling coalition in Austria, had “violated the Constitution” by casting a vote on behalf of the Austrian Republic that went against the will of the governing coalition on the Nature Restoration Law, adding such acts needed to be “punished accordingly”.
The Nature Restoration Law is a biodiversity bill intended to reverse decades of ecosystem degradation proposed by the European Commission in June 2022 which suffered several setbacks between the EU co-legislators, passing today thanks to Austria’s crucial vote.
After the mayhem that ensued following Austria’s vote on the law, an EU diplomat said “the minister [Gewessler] represents her country” and the vote she makes ” is legally binding”.
But the federal country is now looking at legal possibilities to revert the vote cast on behalf of the climate minister, which Chancellor Nehammer dubbed a “serious breach of truth”.
“We are now fighting against this decision, which in our view was taken unlawfully, also in the opinion of the Constitutional Service of the Federal Chancellery, which was taken unlawfully, within the EU,” Nehammmer told a press conference this afternoon.
“The Green coalition partner has shown its true colours, on the one hand moralising to the point of no return and on the other hand immediately ready to put ideology above the constitution and the law,” said Nehammmer.
Debunking speculation over whether a snap election would occur before general elections due on September 29, Nehammmer said Gewessler’s “blatant misconduct” would normally be reason enough to “end the coalition” but he refrained from choosing that path saying it’s “important that this country remains orderly, without chaos”.
Talking to reporters in the EU Council after the vote, Gewessler stood by her decision to favour the biodiversity bill saying it provides for a “lot of flexibility, including to take into account local specificities”.
“This is the most important law that we have in nature protection on this continent and I’m absolutely convinced that in times when there’s decisions that are desperately needed for future generations it’s time to step up and take action, thats’ what I did,” Gewessler told reporters in Luxembourg.
When asked whether she was concern with a potential legal retaliation from her own coalition, the climate minister denied any woes saying she has “extensive legal advice” before the vote, which gave her confidence to go ahead.
“We absolutely need intact biodiversity and ecosystems for our survival and the planet’s,” she added.
