Despite an agreement that seems within reach, the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), VVD, GroenLinks and PvdA in North Brabant have not succeeded in concluding a coalition agreement. The parties report this in separate press releases on Friday. It was precisely the intention that the parties would present the coalition agreement on Monday, but in the end, according to BBB, the parties were unable to find a solution to the disagreement about a deadline for mandatory adjustments to farm stables.
Read also: Nitrogen delays negotiations in the provinces. But there are more reasons for the slow coalition formation
After the provincial elections in March, the BBB became the largest party in North Brabant with eleven seats, followed by the VVD (nine seats) and GroenLinks (five seats). Together with the PvdA (four seats), the parties have 29 of the 55 seats in Parliament. In a response, the BBB writes “not to throw in the towel”. “That is why BBB invites other parliamentary groups to come together to a stable and broadly supported council.”
The barn deadline means that all dairy farmers must have a low-emission barn floor before July 2024. The BBB wants that measure — the effectiveness of which is widely questioned — off the table. According to the party, it will not stand up in court, after the Council of State, among others, established that it is not certain that low-emission livestock barns actually emit less ammonia than regular barns.
Major differences between the views of the BBB and other parties also make negotiations in other provinces a difficult task. For example, in three of the four provinces (North Brabant, North Holland, Overijssel) where BBB and GroenLinks participate, no agreement has yet been reached. Before the elections, BBB stated that it considered forced buy-out of farmers a no-go and wanted the nitrogen deadline of 2030 off the table — many established parties do not want to agree to this.