Background Nitrogen mood
The Hague nitrogen balloons and dog whistles
Someone in political The Hague consulted the strategic leaking script this week and made a plan. According to that person, enough markers have now been set in the ministerial committee for Economy and Nature Restoration to make further adjustments as desired.
There is a report in De Telegraaf about a decision that, according to the Ministry of LVVN, is not yet a decision.
Van der Plas agrees?
This message about 1.800 companies that would have to make way for nature and nitrogen worked like a dog whistle. Those 1.800 are all companies within a zone of 250 meters around Natura 2000 areas, which amounts to emptying. So it has something to say. BBB chairwoman Caroline van der Plas seems to be able to live with the Telegraaf plan, suggests the party website. The story wouldn't have come from her, would it? But anyway, the official news is that there is no decision yet.
Map of Wiersma
Farmers' action group FDF, which has been very quiet for a long time, is suddenly making itself heard and in a less positive way than the BBB. According to the FDF, it seems that Minister Wiersma has taken another good look at the map of her predecessor Christianne van der Wal and, on closer inspection, did not think it was that bad after all. Fellow action group Agractie, which, like the Stichting Stikstofclaim, is seriously involved in discussions with the Schoof Commission, is somewhat more nuanced, but is also not very charmed by the Hague balloon. The scale of the intervention seems to go much further than what Agractie considers acceptable, not only in terms of the number of farmers, but also for the new policy that could be introduced. Agractie does not want zoning, but does want to comply with restrictions for agriculture, a threshold value and permits. These voices are also heard at Stikstofclaim. LTO Nederland and the NAJK have not yet responded.
Provoking reactions also seems to have been the intention of the leak: to gauge the temperature of the water. The Schoof Commission will continue its meetings next week, and perhaps there will be further discussions about the financing of possible plans. After all, the spring memorandum is being worked on.
Erisman a little more understanding
The aforementioned committee is presented with all kinds of proposals and plans, not only or mainly from agriculture. Nitrogen policy professor Jan Willen Erisman, together with an environmental agency, has also a new plan launched; a new way to ensure that agriculture could achieve the nitrogen targets in 2030, he claims. And indeed, for the first time he seems to have a little more understanding for agriculture, although he has no solution for the permit problem. Moreover, he continues to calculate his plans with the flawed Aerius tool that the RIVM once purchased, another nitrogen expert, Wouter de Heij, indicates.
Furthermore, is nature really as vulnerable as many ecologists indicate with the Nature Target Analyses of former Minister Van der Wal and with the nature database NDFF in hand? There is much to criticize about both, and State Secretary Rummenie has reportedly taken care of that.
Roswall wants results first
In Brussels, a delegation from the House of Representatives spoke with European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall. It was almost inevitable that the plan for a new Dutch derogation request was also mentioned. Roswall responded with reservations, and clearly differently from her colleague Commissioner Hansen. Roswall wants the Netherlands to first meet the set standards for water quality. Only then will she discuss a new derogation. The Swedish European Commissioner also does not seem to want to anticipate a revision of the European Nitrate Directive, which is being discussed in Brussels. For her, 170 kilos of nitrogen from animal manure is firmly established as the standard for the whole of Europe, although she is in favour of more use of artificial fertiliser substitutes. However, she herself will not make a decision on this. According to her, that is up to the Member States.
Nitrate Action Programme
Minister Wiersma also spoke to Roswall, but she is not yet impressed. At the end of Friday afternoon she sent her proposal for an 8th action programme nitrate directive to the Lower House. In it, she seems to anticipate a new derogation, but perhaps with designation of parts of the Netherlands as vulnerable areas. The minister expresses himself cautiously, but has undoubtedly also informed Brussels.
Wiersma and SSC against Greenpeace
Also reports the minister that she is appealing the ruling of the Hague District Court in the main proceedings of Greenpeace against the state concerning vulnerable nature. She is doing so mainly because of objections about the feasibility, she reports. Wiersma is not the only one. The Stichting Stikstofclaim (SSC) is also appealing.
Klaas van der Horst
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