Renaturation dispute

Association of municipalities demands: Ministry should pay!

The Association of Municipalities is demanding full reimbursement of costs from the Ministry of the Environment for the effects of the signature of department head Leonore Gewessler.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, stock.adobe.com/andri_priyadi)

Numerous towns and municipalities in Austria, which are already short of money, see the next avalanche of costs rolling towards them - in the form of the controversial renaturation ordinance. As a precaution, they are therefore already insisting on full reimbursement of costs by the Ministry of Climate Protection.

Johannes Pressl, President of the Association of Municipalities, emphasized that three quarters of municipalities are already struggling to manage their budgets. As a result of the renaturation ordinance, it is to be feared that the cities and municipalities will also be massively affected. "We will no longer allow the municipalities to automatically take on the financing for every new measure decided by the EU, the federal government or the federal states. This is no longer sustainable in the long term," said Pressl. 

Head of the Association of Municipalities Johannes Pressl

(Bild: APA/Helmut Fohringer)

Gewessler should "stand in front of citizens"
In terms of content, the President of the Association of Municipalities was also concerned about the practical feasibility of renaturation: "I hope that all those who have now decided from a 'safe distance' will also stand in front of local citizens in the follow-up discussions when it comes to dismantling, land use or restricting rights." At the same time, the ÖVP politician called for the municipalities to be involved in national implementation from the outset. "This is not provided for in the EU resolution text, but it is crucial for us," said Pressl.

The ÖVP has filed an abuse of office complaint
Meanwhile, his party has prepared an abuse of office complaint against Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), which will be submitted to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office on Thursday. In the complaint, which is available to APA, the ÖVP accuses its coalition partner of having "knowingly abused her authority" by approving the EU renaturation regulation because she had not reached agreement with the federal provinces and the ÖVP-led Ministry of Agriculture. 

Gewessler "calmly awaits" legal action
Gewessler's "yes" to the renaturation ordinance had caused the government quite a stir, but Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) ultimately decided against letting the coalition collapse. However, the ÖVP announced both an action for annulment at the ECJ and the aforementioned abuse of office charges against Gewessler. The Minister herself remained unimpressed. "I am very relaxed about any legal action," Gewessler told journalists on the fringes of the Austrian World Summit (AWS) in Vienna. She had approved the renaturation law in accordance with the law, "and I am thus not only following the legal situation, but also many years of practice", she emphasized, referring for example to the veto of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) against the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria, which was supported by the Greens. Gewessler once again praised the renaturation decision as a "victory for nature".

Olga Voglauer, Secretary General of the Greens, showed little understanding for the "myths" and "scaremongering" surrounding the renaturation law. "The Commission has already announced that it will make funds available. We stand by this support, because the protection of our homeland, our nature and thus our livelihood must be worth something to us. One thing is certainly the most expensive: continuing to pour concrete," she said in a press release.