Ambition without alignment: Pollinators in the EU Nature Restoration Law

Pollinators are essential for life on Earth. They enable the reproduction of most flowering plants and support biodiversity as well as food systems. However, their numbers are in great decline. Research finds a continuing decrease in pollinating insects each year. This article reviews whether EU Law is fit to address this challenge. First, this paper analyses the norms in the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) and the Delegated Regulation, finding that the NRL demands wide‐scale system change to comply with the targets set out. Second, it reviews what legal instruments and policies hold back these promises. Examples are the EU Pesticide Laws, EU climate laws, EU norms on light pollution, rules on Invasive Alien Species and, most pressingly, the proposed EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) budget. In the end, this paper concludes that the EU also has a responsibility to support the implementation of the NRL beyond interpretation manuals and soft guidance. It must fund, streamline and revise its own architecture, strengthening many existing EU laws to ensure coherence.