News Nitrates Directive
7th action program insufficient for derogation
The derogation is in jeopardy. The European Commission has not placed the Netherlands on the agenda for the Nitrate Committee on 15 December, Carola Schouten of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality announced on Monday 13 December in a letter to the House of Representatives.
The above news means that the next step that is required in the application procedure cannot (yet) be initiated. The European Commission stated that it was not sufficiently convinced of the timely achievement of the water quality targets in the seventh Nitrates Directive action program as the reason for not putting it on the agenda. This means that the Netherlands must come up with additional measures to improve the quality of water. This task mainly relates to improving the quality of surface water.
Schouten expressly states that he is looking for a connection with the structural nitrogen approach. "I have indicated that a next cabinet will decide on the measures that are necessary. I have argued for flexibility in the procedure for granting a derogation, so that the decision on a new derogation is made in good time - i.e. in the second quarter of next year. - can be completed."
Certain measures in the Nitrates Directive action program still need to be fleshed out in more detail. In addition, additional measures are needed, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. It is warned, however, that it is not self-evident that a derogation will be granted.
Sufficient arguments for derogation
For Wil Meulenbroeks, the chairman of the Dairy Farming department of LTO Nederland, not putting it on the agenda comes as no surprise. "The European Commission has previously made critical voices about Dutch policy. But from an environmental point of view, there are sufficient arguments to grant derogation. The water quality at derogation farms is generally better than average. In fact, studies show that slurry is less is sensitive to leaching than fertilizer. If derogation is not granted, fertilizer must be removed and fertilizer - the production of which costs a lot of energy - supplied. of the consequences for the manure chain."
According to Meulenbroeks, the seventh action program places too much emphasis on measures and too little on the goals that are being pursued. "It is becoming a political discussion where the goal - to improve water quality - is in danger of being lost sight of. The effects on the environment and what is feasible and affordable should be central, as in the alternative tailor-made plan of the agricultural sector."
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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