News Nitrogen claim
'Stop buying up land for nature because of millions of dollars' claim
The Nitrogen Claim Foundation threatens with summary proceedings if outgoing minister Carola Schouten of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality does not immediately stop buying and expropriating farmland for nature development. Nitrogen Claim wants the minister to await the results of an investigation by the European Commission into the wrongful subsidization of land purchases by thirteen nature organizations.
This month, the European Commission has started to reassess whether the nature organizations have unjustifiably received state aid, the foundation said. In December last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that hundreds of millions of euros of prohibited state aid was involved in the allocation of land to Natuurmonumenten and the twelve provincial landscapes in the period from 1993 to 2012. This partly concerned expropriated farmland. , according to the Nitrogen Claim Foundation.
Nitrogen claim demands that Minister Schouten immediately stop the expropriation of new farmland, pending the results of the European Commission's investigation. "There is a real chance that these lands cannot be used for nature development. After all, nature organizations are facing a million-dollar claim as a result of wrongly obtained subsidies. They do not have that money available. They will then be forced to sell the land. Farmlands cannot be expropriated in order to be able to pay fines from governments and nature organizations," the foundation said. a message on her website.
Nitrogen Claim, Minister Schouten requested Monday 13 December to stop the purchase of agricultural land and the development of new nature reserves, until there is more clarity. If the minister does not comply with the request, the foundation will consider initiating summary proceedings.
Linda van Eekeres
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