The first mission of coalition partners VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, SP, D66 and Lokaal Brabant has been successful: after a long debate about their administrative agreement, the deputies have been appointed and Brabant politics can really get back to work as the last province of the Netherlands.
But there was strong criticism of the agreement from the opposition. They think the management plan is too vague and not concrete enough.
John Frenken is the leader of BBB, the largest party in the States. That party initially participated in the negotiations, but sidelined itself before the summer by coming up with many additional demands at the very last minute. “BBB has not been able to reach an agreement from which the people of Brabant can draw hope, but I wonder whether these parties have actually succeeded. They are going together, but nowhere.” And that criticism also came from other opposition parties in the Statenzaal.
Stables deadline
One of the topics on the table was the stable deadline. Local Brabant in particular had a hard time on that subject. At the beginning of this year, that party came up with the proposal to completely sweep that deadline off the table. But the new coalition agreement now ‘only’ states that the deadline for installing a low-emission housing system will be postponed by a year and a half. And then only for cattle farmers. For everyone else, the deadline will remain on July 1 next year.
The CDA, among others, wanted to know from Lokaal Brabant why this party agreed to this: “First you participated in our motion that went much further, you even wanted to get rid of the deadline completely. And now you sign the cross,” said party leader Ronnie Buiks (CDA).
According to right-wing opposition parties, the new coalition forces farmers to adopt expensive systems that do not work well. “How can farmers meet their obligation to apply for a permit before October 1 if we do not grant those permits at all now?” Buiks (CDA) wondered.
GroenLinks countered that farmers have more options to reduce their nitrogen emissions. “For example, they can keep fewer animals, become nature-inclusive or use more land per animal,” noted group leader Jade van der Linden.
Animal welfare, China and biomass
Although it sometimes seems that way, the members of Parliament are talking about more than just farmers and stable systems. For example, the Party for the Animals was not satisfied with the heading about animal welfare in the agreement. The coalition only wrote: “We pay attention to the welfare of animals.” That is very economical, thought Nikky Hamerslag (Party for the Animals): “This agreement speaks of a people-oriented policy, that is clear again.”
BBB wants Brabant to break ties with its Chinese sister province Jiangsu, because this relationship with China is no longer appropriate due to human rights violations and espionage. A proposal for this did not make it. The agreement does state that the relationship with Jiangsu is already being reviewed.
And Willem Rutjens from JA21 wanted to know what the coalition plans to do with biomass, specifically the Amercentrale. It emits a lot of nitrogen, right next to the De Biesbosch Natura2000 area. D66 believes that biomass does not fit into ‘a green energy mix’. Group chairman Matthijs van Miltenburg: “The dot on the horizon is that the burning of trees will eventually be stopped, because then there will be sustainable energy. But that dot has not yet been set.”
New college
Before the new deputies can start working, the Provincial Council must officially approve them. This is usually a formality, the coalition also has a majority. Seven times it was said: ‘I declare and promise this’ from the council without CDA.
READ ALSO:
The new Brabant coalition wants to achieve this over the next four years
As provincial administrators, these men and women will ‘make Brabant together’