Our forests are burning. Our nature laws could be next.

While summer wildfires are still smouldering across Europe, we are back at work with more determination than ever to protect nature, accelerate climate action, and help our birds thrive again.
As September kicks off, we are also getting back to EU politics. And we can assure you: autumn is looking busy. So, what’s on the agenda?
The fight to save our nature laws continues.
Before summer, the European Commission launched a ‘stress test’ of the EU’s nature laws, to check whether the Birds and Habitats Directives are still fit for purpose. Here is the (not-so-funny) thing: they already did this exercise a few years ago. The conclusion? The laws work. They simply need better implementation and proper funding.
So, why do it again?
We are concerned that this new review could become an excuse to weaken the laws that protect Europe’s wildlife and habitats for the sake of short-term profits. We can’t let that happen. Our #HandsOffNature campaign team is following every step of this process and pushing back whenever nature is attacked. Thanks to your support, we have already shown decision-makers that thousands of people care about protecting nature.
If you haven’t yet joined the more than 600,000 people speaking up for Europe’s nature, now is the perfect time: www.handsoffnature.eu/take-action
Don’t poison us!
But the attacks on environmental protections go further. The European Commission also faces heavy pressure from big agricultural lobbies to weaken pesticide rules. If the Commission gives in, we could end up eating food treated with pesticides that receive far less scrutiny than they do today. This would be a disaster for nature, for farmers, and for us.
We have to talk about money.
By the end of the year, the EU will decide its next long-term budget. It sounds technical, but these decisions will shape Europe’s priorities for the next decade. One programme we are particularly worried about is LIFE, the EU’s flagship fund for nature restoration and environmental projects. Across Europe, our BirdLife Partners use LIFE funding to restore wetlands, protect endangered species, and make communities greener and healthier. There are worrying signals that this funding could be reduced or even scrapped.
Investing in nature isn’t a luxury. It’s one of the smartest investments Europe can make. Healthy nature is the foundation of our economy. Clean water, healthy soils, flood protection, and resilience against the climate crisis all depend on functioning ecosystems. If we stop investing in nature today, we will pay a much higher price tomorrow.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU’s farming policy, is another big piece of the EU budget puzzle, accounting for around a third of the total budget. As the CAP enters its next cycle, its future funding will be part of the wider EU budget negotiations.
We’re advocating for CAP funding that supports farmers who want to work with nature. Thriving farmlands need farmers with the right incentives and resources. And if we want long-term food security, we need to stop the rapid decline of biodiversity today.
Nature restoration takes centre stage.
At the end of October, our team will be at the UN biodiversity conference (COP17) in Armenia, where countries from around the world will meet to discuss how to stop and reverse nature loss. Our core message will be: tackling the climate crisis and restoring nature must go hand in hand.
We are also looking forward to sharing the amazing nature restoration projects our Partners are running all across the region. (You can find out more here).
And there’s more good news!
Thanks to years of campaigning and to your support, the Nature Restoration Law was adopted in 2024. Now comes the equally important part: making sure it delivers real results on the ground. This September, EU countries will submit their first national restoration plans to the European Commission. Over the coming months, we will be analysing them closely to make sure the final plans, due in 2027, are strong enough.
We know what’s at stake
It won’t be an easy autumn. Nature is under pressure from all sides, and every political decision made over the next few months will matter. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that people speaking up for nature can make a real difference.
Together, we have defended nature laws before. Together, we have won the Nature Restoration Law. And together, we will keep making sure Europe’s leaders don’t forget that protecting nature means protecting all of us.
Photo: kojihirano/ shutterstock
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Stichting BirdLife Europe gratefully acknowledges financial support from the European Commission. All content and opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of Stichting BirdLife Europe. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. |

* Summer wildfires are occurring across Europe.
* The European Commission conducted a 'stress test' of the EU’s nature laws concerning the Birds and Habitats Directives.
* The stress test concluded the laws work but need better implementation and funding.
* A campaign is pushing back on the review to prevent weakening wildlife and habitat protections for short-term profits.
* Pressure exists from large agricultural lobbies to weaken pesticide rules.
* The EU will decide its next long-term budget by the end of the year.
* The LIFE fund, an EU nature restoration fund, faces concerns regarding potential reduction or scrapping.
* The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) accounts for about a third of the total EU budget.
* National restoration plans will be submitted to the European Commission in September.
* A team will attend the UN biodiversity conference (COP17) in Armenia in October.

The European Union is facing pressure regarding its nature laws and environmental policies amid ongoing concerns about climate action and economic priorities. A 'stress test' of the Birds and Habitats Directives was conducted by the European Commission, which concluded the laws are fit for purpose but require better implementation and funding. There is concern that this review could be used to weaken protections for wildlife and habitats in favor of short-term profits. Furthermore, the Commission faces pressure from agricultural lobbies regarding pesticide rules. Financial decisions, particularly concerning the LIFE fund for nature restoration and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), are central to the debate. Advocates argue that investing in nature is an economic necessity, as healthy ecosystems support food security and climate resilience. The movement is actively pushing for action, including monitoring national restoration plans and preparing to speak at the UN biodiversity conference.

The narrative weaves together immediate ecological crises, legislative scrutiny, and fiscal prioritization into a single call for systemic change. The tension lies between established legal frameworks—like the successfully adopted Nature Restoration Law—and the political and economic forces attempting to redirect funding and weaken regulatory oversight. A key pattern is the framing of environmental protection as an investment strategy; linking biodiversity to economic stability (healthy soils, flood protection) attempts to move these issues from an abstract moral concern to a concrete fiscal imperative. The repeated focus on implementation, funding mechanisms (CAP, LIFE), and future budgeting suggests that the battleground is shifting from setting broad goals to securing the practical execution of existing laws. The mechanism for building cognitive sovereignty here relies on recognizing how systemic decisions regarding money and policy translate directly into ecological outcomes, which can be leveraged to resist short-term profit motives embedded in funding structures. What are the implicit agreements being made about the cost of nature versus economic expediency? What alternatives exist outside the presented framework for valuing ecosystems?

Our forests are burning. Our nature laws could be next.

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Executive Summary

Full Take

Our forests are burning. Our nature laws could be next.

Facts Only

Executive Summary

Full Take