News Nitrogen
Van der Wal removes nitrogen card from the table
Nitrogen minister Christinanne van der Wal thinks it is good advice from Johan Remkes to remove the nitrogen card from the table. She said that during the press conference about Remkes' advice. Remkes in turn called this 'a very important signal'.
Van der Wal indicated that she had already 'apologised for the effects of the map', but she did not withdraw the infamous unclear map on which was colored how much nitrogen had to be reduced where. She will look 'together with everyone' at how she will communicate the policy in the future. The minister has not yet commented on the content of the report. On 14 October, the cabinet will present its first general response.
Piet Adema, who has been Minister of LNV for two days, announced that he is going on tour, 'into the country, to the farmers'. He not only wants to work with the farmers, but also with nature organizations and the chains. Agriculture has a future in the Netherlands, according to Adema, but this also requires 'clarity, peace and security'.
Adema is pleased that the report is now available. He likes the fact that Remkes' report does not ignore the breach of trust that the government was partly responsible for. "As a government, we will have to hold up a mirror to ourselves." The contrast between city and countryside is also fairly stated, according to Adema. According to the new minister, the report contains 'very nice building blocks for working on a new future with the sector, the chain, but also with nature organizations'. Although he has not yet responded substantively, he does say: "We are faced with big decisions, which will also hurt them."
Cabinet approach could have been a bit better
Remkes also criticized the cabinet. According to him, the approach has led to a lot of unnecessary emotion. He explicitly mentions Van der Wal's map. According to Remkes, it would also have been better if the perspective had been presented at the same time as the nitrogen approach was presented, because the nitrogen approach also removes perspective at the same time. "Looking back, that could have been a little better."
Remkes also indicated during the round of questions at the press conference that if 'there must be a moment of guilt' that we ended up in the nitrogen crisis, it must have been in the mid-90s at the time of the Habitats Directive and the nomination of the nature reserves. According to Remkes, it is 'useful to discuss whether the views on nature are not too static in nature'. Areas that were designated as Natura 2000 at the time and considered valuable nature may have developed in such a way that you now come to different conclusions. Remkes cannot imagine that other countries do not need it either.
Linda van Eekeres
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