Provinces still have to complete their nitrogen plans before July 1, even after the election victory of the BoerBurger Movement (BBB), which is very critical on this point, says responsible minister Christianne van der Wal. Those plans will not be “set in stone” and can be adjusted afterwards.
The minister does not want to anticipate how possible provincial councils with BBB can block her nitrogen plans. According to her, the elections do not change the “statutory task” for provinces to come up with nitrogen plans before the said date.
“Those are really the first substantiations of how goals should be achieved,” says Van der Wal, who also leaves room not to come up with too detailed plans.
A spearhead of BBB leader Caroline van der Plas is her strong criticism of the cabinet’s nitrogen policy. The party wants the deadline to halve nitrogen emissions by 2030 to be removed and that farmers are not forced to buy out.
Given that the BBB is the largest party in all provinces after Wednesday’s elections, there is a good chance that the party will become part of provincial governments. This could lead to the government’s nitrogen plans being thwarted, because the provinces have an important role in their implementation.
In Drenthe, BBB was the big winner in the Provincial Council elections on Wednesday with seventeen seats. One in three Drenthe pollsters voted for the newcomer to the political landscape.