Austrian ruling coalition will limp on after clash over EU nature law

18/6/2024 6:20

        Austria's ruling coalition of conservatives and Greens flirted with collapse on Monday after a minister went it alone to tip the balance in the European Union in favour of a nature restoration law, but the alliance will limp on.
        
        Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler of the Greens shifted Austria's position at the last minute over the conservatives' objections to cast the country's vote in favour of the bloc's flagship policy to restore damaged nature at a meeting of her counterparts in Luxembourg on Monday.
        
        That incensed Chancellor Karl Nehammer and his conservative People's Party (OVP), who said Gewessler was legally required to obtain the agreement of the OVP-run Agriculture Ministry since it is partly responsible for the issue. The OVP opposes the law.
        
        "The Green coalition partner has shown its true face. On the one hand it is endlessly pontificating. On the other, it is prepared to put ideology before the constitution and the law," Nehammer told a news conference in Brussels.