The adoption of the proposal for a Nature Restoration Regulation (EU-NRR) in 2022 sparked highly controversial debates across environmental policy domains. The intensity of contestation during the ordinary legislative procedure was evident in numerous amendments and the narrow voting outcomes within the European legislative institutions. While the multi-level and multi-sectoral nature of the EU environmental policy arena offers numerous opportunities and venues for political networks to influence policy processes and their outcomes, coalition dynamics and the discursive power of environmental networks remain insufficiently explored. These dynamics are particularly pronounced in environmental politics, where a wide range of actors—shaped by divergent ideas and power structures—attempt to discursively shape political processes according to their interpretations of reality. This study draws on the discourse coalition framework and the coalition magnet concept to examine the role of coalition formation and discursive power in shaping policy processes and outcomes at the EU level, with a particular focus on forest ecosystems. Using Discourse Network Analysis (DNA), we analyze the policy debate surrounding the EU-NRR to: i) identify supporting and opposing discourse coalitions; ii) uncover forest-related storylines; and iii) assess how discourse coalitions and their storylines influenced the political process and its outcome. Drawing on an analysis of 328 public statements from a diverse range of political actors, combined with process-tracing of key policy outputs, we highlight the significance of coalition formation and discursive power dynamics within environmental networks and offer novel insights into the emergence of the first EU-wide, directly applicable, and legally binding forest policy instrument.
