Stimulating exchange with Environment Minister Serge Wilmes

At the end of January, Mouvement Ecologique had a stimulating exchange with Environment Minister Serge Wilmes, accompanied by numerous officials.

The agenda was packed. The first topic was the reform of nature conservation legislation and the direction of future agricultural policy. There was a general discussion on how to reduce pesticide use and make agriculture more sustainable, with a greater focus on biodiversity protection. Naturally, the expansion of organic farming was also a key topic. The discussion also included the Mouvement Ecologique press conference held that day, at which a European study was presented showing that conventionally grown apples are systematically contaminated with pesticides.

With regard to the upcoming reform of the Nature Conservation Act, the Mouvement Ecologique expressed its conviction that nature conservation and simplified procedures can go hand in hand, but unfortunately this would not be the case with the current draft law. For his part, the Minister is convinced of the reform proposals, but in all likelihood further bilateral talks with ministry officials will take place.

In this context, the government’s work on national building regulations, led by the Ministry of the Interior, was also discussed. These regulations are intended to contain nationally applicable standards for certain municipal regulations. The Mouvement Ecologique emphasised how important it considers it to be that relevant sustainability issues are also addressed, such as water management in times of climate crisis, greening, simplification of building renovation regulations, etc. The minister stressed that he too considers the integration of such considerations into the future national building regulations to be crucial. A concrete exchange with officials was arranged to discuss the topic in greater depth.

The greening of towns and villages, which needs to be strengthened, was another topic. Both sides agreed on the importance of this issue. The Mouvement Ecologique is planning another event on the subject, among other things, and guidelines for planting trees in public spaces are being developed jointly.

Green budgeting, i.e. scrutinising the state budget for counterproductive, environmentally harmful subsidies – a key demand of the Mouvement Ecologique – was also discussed, as was the further development of sustainability indicators, which are intended to show the extent to which sustainable development goals can be achieved with the state budget.

Overall, the exchange took place in a constructive and open atmosphere. Such meetings are to be held at least twice a year in future, and specific dossiers are to be discussed more intensively at ministerial level.

translated by Deepl

23.02,26