NRR Committee
The NRR Committee is set up under Article 24 NRR and assists the Commission with the adoption of implementing acts under the NRR. It is composed of Member States’ representatives.
- First meeting of the NRR Committee (25 November 2024)
- Second meeting of the NRR Committee (11 March 2025)
The focus of both meetings was the discussion of the draft implementing act establishing a uniform format for the national restoration plan, and its accompanying background documents. The vote and adoption of a positive opinion on the draft took place during the second meeting.
NRR Expert Group
The NRR Expert Group is a sub-group of the EU Biodiversity Platform dedicated to assisting the Commission in the implementation of the NRR. It is composed of representatives of Member States, public authorities and stakeholders.
The main topic of discussion in this first meeting of the expert group was the draft implementing act establishing a uniform format for the national restoration plan, and its accompanying background documents.
- Ad hoc meeting with Member States’ representatives (7 February 2025)
Discussion on the draft implementing act establishing a uniform format for the national restoration plan, in particular finance aspects.
The main topics of discussion of this second meeting were the finance report under Article 21(7) NRR and the Commission’s work on nature credits.
The main topic of discussion of this third meeting was the draft delegated act on a monitoring methodology for pollinators and the progress on the preparation of draft national restoration plans.
Main topics for discussion were the ongoing process of preparing National Restoration Plans and an initial outlook towards the NRP assessment process as well as other upcoming work for the group under the Regulation.
Other sub-groups of the EU Biodiversity Platform
The work of these groups focuses on the implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directives in general (NADEG) and the reporting provisions of these directives in particular (Reporting Expert Group). In both groups regular updates on the NRR and subjects related to the Birds and the Habitats Directives are given.
- Marine Expert Group (MEG)
The work of the MEG focuses on the designation and management of marine Natura 2000 sites, promoting synergies between the Birds, Habitats and Marine Strategy Framework Directives, management of fishing and other human activities in accordance with the requirements of the nature directives, and exploiting synergies with the common fisheries policy and other relevant legislation, implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation in the marine environment. The last meeting in March 2025 focused specifically on the NRR.
Ongoing technical discussions with Member State experts on the first stages of implementation of Article 8 of the NRR in relation to the urban targets. Four meetings held in 2025 so far, covering defining urban ecosystem areas and mapping and monitoring of urban green space and tree cover, including sharing of best practice and liaison with the European Environment Agency on data management.
WGP provides advice to the Commission and foster collaboration for the coherent implementation of the New Deal for Pollinators - the revised EU Pollinators Initiative and Article 10 of the Nature Restoration Regulation - as well as other EU policies relevant for pollinator conservation. It is composed of representatives of Member State authorities and public bodies and stakeholders with expertise in pollinators. WGP was instrumental in preparing the technical basis for the delegated regulation on pollinator monitoring required under NRR Article 10(2), which greatly facilitated the formal consultation in the NRR Expert Group.
- Ad hoc workshops on biodiversity finance
Ad hoc workshops are called upon to discuss finance-related or budgetary topics that would have an impact on biodiversity financing. They can also be used to present the state of play of regulatory requirements introduced by the Nature Restoration Regulation. They are composed of Member States authorities from both environment and finance ministries, as well as other EU stakeholders specialised in finance. In 2025, two meetings were held, notably to discuss the Article 21.7 of the Regulation and the Commission’s proposal for an EU budget 2028-2034.
This new group will provide advice and expertise to the Commission in the development, implementation and evaluation of EU biodiversity policy initiatives pertinent to forest ecosystems and their services, complementing the Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform and the Standing Forestry Committee. At the first meeting, held on 11 November 2025, close links to other groups such as the NRR EG and the draft work programme for 2026 were discussed.
Other groups
- Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework Directive (WFD): composed of the European Commission as well as representatives of Member States and stakeholders, it works mainly on the implementation of the EU water legislation. Its scope grew beyond the WFD and its most recent mandate to also include freshwater aspects related to the NRR. In particular, it produced a guidance document, endorsed at water directors level, on criteria for identifying free-flowing river stretches. The use of this methodological document by Member States to fill in their NRPs as regards aspects related to article 9 of the NRR (rivers and floodplains) is recommended.
- Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: composed of representatives of Member States and stakeholders, it works on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, through a number of working groups and technical groups, overseen by the Marine Strategy Coordination Group. As part of their work on MSFD implementation, experts continuously linked to other relevant EU policies and legislation, including the NRR, as required by the CIS Work Programme 2022-2027. Recently, the adoption of the NRR has led to presentations and discussions in the Working Group on Good Environmental Status, the Working Group on Measures and the Technical Group on Seafloor Integrity