News item | 24-01-2025 | 2:45 PM
There will be a ministerial committee to get the Netherlands off the nitrogen lock as quickly as possible. Although many steps have been taken in recent years to reduce nitrogen and restore nature, there is no structural solution yet. 2 recent court rulings have further increased the urgency to address this problem.
These rulings are far-reaching and have major consequences for the granting of nature permits. This not only affects current projects in sectors such as industry, defense, agriculture, housing and airports, but also previously granted permits. This creates a lot of uncertainty for companies and entrepreneurs about their future activities.
The aim of the Ministerial Committee on Economy and Nature Restoration is to develop a concrete program in the short term to unlock the Netherlands and offer perspective to sectors that have been affected by the court rulings. This is done by:
- to explore what is or could be possible in licensing;
- to draw up a program of measures aimed at a guaranteed reduction of nitrogen emissions and nature restoration;
- to map out the impact of the ‘retroactive effect’ of the Council of State’s ruling and offer a solution for this;
- to commit to Brussels and EU legislation.
The following ministers are permanent members of the committee:
- The Prime Minister (chairman);
- The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature;
- The State Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature;
- The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management;
- The Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning;
- The Minister of Economic Affairs;
- The Minister of Climate and Green Growth;
- The Minister of Defense;
- The State Secretary for Defense;
- The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment;
- The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations; and
- The Minister of Finance.