A legal analysis of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law

The document analyzes the legal requirements of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which mandates the restoration of at least 25,000km of free-flowing rivers in the EU by 2030. It details the process for creating barrier inventories, prioritizing the removal of obsolete structures, and ensuring these actions align with other EU frameworks like the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitats Directive. The briefing emphasizes the need for longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity and warns against using the Renewable Energy Directive to justify the retention of obsolete barriers.

• The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) establishes a binding legal target to restore at least 25,000km of rivers into free-flowing condition by 2030, primarily through removing artificial barriers.
• Member States must create a comprehensive inventory of all artificial barriers to surface water connectivity, which must be included in their National Restoration Plans (NRPs).
• To qualify as 'free-flowing' under Article 3(22) of the NRL, a river stretch must restore three dimensions of connectivity: longitudinal, lateral, and vertical.
• Member States are instructed to prioritize the removal of 'obsolete' barriers, defined as structures that no longer serve a legitimate or lawful function, such as those with expired permits or those in disrepair.
• Barrier removal must be complemented by measures to improve the natural functions of related floodplains to enhance water retention, sediment flow, and disaster risk resilience.
• Barrier removal projects may require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) if they are likely to have significant effects on the environment, with large-scale hydropower plants often falling under mandatory assessment categories.
• Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), any project causing even temporary deterioration of a water body's status is prohibited unless a strict Article 4(7) derogation is granted.
• There is a potential conflict between the NRL's barrier removal goals and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which promotes upscaling hydropower; the document argues that hydropower plants should be considered for exclusion from Renewables Acceleration Areas (RAAs).
• The NRL imposes a non-deterioration obligation under Article 9(4), requiring that restored river connectivity and floodplain functions be maintained over time.
• Climate-induced flood or drought events may no longer be classified as 'force majeure' because they are no longer considered 'unforeseeable' given current scientific evidence.

APA

Duque, I., Agapakis, I., & Pravuljac, M. (2025). A legal analysis of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/ax1fhfnz/lre_article-9-report_web.pdf

Chicago

Duque, Irene, Ioannis Agapakis, and Maja Pravuljac. A legal analysis of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law. ClientEarth, 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/ax1fhfnz/lre_article-9-report_web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Duque |first1=Irene |last2=Agapakis |first2=Ioannis |last3=Pravuljac |first3=Maja |title=A legal analysis of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law |publisher=ClientEarth |date=June 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/ax1fhfnz/lre_article-9-report_web.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duque2025legal, author = {Duque, Irene and Agapakis, Ioannis and Pravuljac, Maja}, title = {{A legal analysis of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/ax1fhfnz/lre_article-9-report_web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }