EU Policy

Our efforts for shaping better EU environmental policies

The EU is of great significance for the protection of biodiversity in Germany, and for combatting climate crisis worldwide. For example, the EU Birds and Habitats Directives mark the binding foundations and standards for nature and species conservation in all 27 EU Member States. The EU's “Natura 2000” network is one of a kind – worldwide. Many of its designated protected areas, however, require better management. A novel approach to bring back nature in Europe is the EU Nature Restoration Law – a historic chance to restore our degraded ecosystems.

For mitigation of global emissions and to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels binding climate targets are implemented across the EU. Two of its important pieces of legislation are the EU Climate Law and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which enshrine binding EU goals in energy and climate politics. Unfortunately, the RED has abolished environmental safeguards like environmental impact assessments and may therefore come at a cost for nature.

At the same time, it's imperative to reform one of the oldest and most impactful EU policies, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The CAP is a prime example of untargeted subsidies that we deem damaging to nature's interests. Instead of supporting a rewarding system for good land-stewardship and ecosystem services, CAP payments are responsible for large scale environmental-degradation and the loss of small- and medium-scale farms and only profitable for highly industrialized farming systems. To change this, we form strong alliances for this with our partners from the BirdLife International network.

Our work on EU level

NABU engages not only in Berlin and on a federal level in Germany, but also in Brussels, to make sure that environmental protection and climate mitigation are integrated and sufficiently funded. For our work, we form strong alliances with our umbrella organisations such as BirdLife International, Climate Action Network Europe, the European Environmental Bureau and Transport and Environment, as well as with their partner organisations in other Member States. Our work on EU level allows us to accelerate the poor implementation of environmental law in Germany.

As such, NABU has already successfully filed numerous EU complaints that have led to either infringement proceedings by the European Commission or even rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU – for example, in the matter of designated protected areas for birds. Proof of the success of our joint effort is to be found in adoption of key environmental legislations such as the Nature Restoration Law, which got adopted against severe political blocking.  

EU funds and programmes also are important for our work at NABU. Our federal and local organisations are participating directly or indirectly in many EU projects, mainly through the LIFE program.

Committed to our goals

NABU is the only German environmental NGO that works on all levels – from local projects all the way up to EU decision making. With more than 940,000 members and supporters, NABU is the largest member-based environmental association in the EU's strongest economy. With that, NABU bears a special responsibility for protecting the environment within the EU's borders and beyond.

NABU Brussels Office - Contacts

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