Cabinet not back to Brussels due to nitrogen standards
The cabinet can continue with the nitrogen policy, but it must make it clear what the future of farmers in the Netherlands will look like. That became apparent in almost fourteen hours about the plans to continue the nitrogen precipitation, starting with agriculture.
The cabinet plans are the result of the nitrogen ruling by the Council of State in 2019. The agricultural reforms are the first reaction of politicians to the judicial decision. But the plans have provoked a storm of criticism.
The anger and indignation among the farmers about the plans is reflected in the parliamentary debate on Thursday 23 June. Mainly the fact that agriculture should be stemmed only to criticism. According to the House, other sectors, such as industry, should also contain their task. Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal (VVD) announced that he would come up with nitrogen targets for the other sectors at the end of this year.
Despite the billions that the Rutte IV cabinet is allocating for agricultural reform, the House was critical of the lack of prospects for farmers. The reduction envisaged by the government must be provided with measures and facilities to ensure the future of the sector under the new conditions.
Staghouwer must better substantiate the future of agriculture
But Minister of Agriculture Henk Staghouwer (ChristenUnie) had not included this in his plans. He had a hard time with the whole Chamber and at a certain moment also lost his way in his papers. Staghouwer had to provide clarity about the future of agriculture in the short term.
Meanwhile, Minister Van der Wal stood proudly. She supported the coalition and the left-wing opposition. Van der Wal rejected applications from, among others, BBB and JA21 to ask Brussels to reduce the number of Natura 2000 areas – 162. This has already been agreed a few times by former agriculture minister Carola Schouten and the European Commission, according to Van der Wal.
That French President Emmanuel Macron often manages to arrange things for his country in Brussels, as BBB MP Caroline van der Plas said, did not impress Van der Wal. Nor is the argument that the Birds and Habitats Directive, design nitrogen policy is based on 1992 dates. According to Van der Plas, this guideline does not last forever. “You can’t still have lines from 1992 in 2500.”
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