The cabinet suddenly threw a bag of money on the table on Friday to speed up the nitrogen plans. Nitrogen minister Christianne van der Wal (VVD) has already put forward half a billion euros: to buy out farmers, adapt stables and improve nature. Provinces had begged for that money, complaining about a lack of clarity and financial resources.
“Lubricating oil”, Van der Wal calls it. In addition, 250 million euros will go to plans to urgently grant a permit to so-called PAS reporters. These are farmers who received a nature permit between 2015 and 2019, but who later turned out to be not entitled to it. It has been agreed in the coalition agreement that these farmers will be legalized.
‘We’re not there yet’
“We are not there yet, but the cabinet has listened more closely to the concerns of farmers, provinces and the House of Representatives,” says CDA MP Derk Boswijk. His party is under great pressure to water down the cabinet’s nitrogen plans. Farmers are still outraged that nitrogen emissions must be halved by 2030, meaning livestock will shrink by about 30 percent.
The infamous map – containing reduction figures of up to 95 percent per area – is no longer sacred to the cabinet. Minister Van der Wal is also prepared to take a less strict look at the limit value for nitrogen that determines whether nature is in good condition. The CDA seems reassured for the time being with these promises, but the question is for how long.
Farmer’s protest is far from over
Because the farmers’ protest is far from over. On Friday, tractors and trucks blocked traffic on the A1, A50 and A28. The actions caused significant delays. As long as the cabinet sticks to the nitrogen targets, the protest does not seem to be subsiding.
This summer, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will talk to various farmers. More important is the plan that agriculture minister Staghouwer is working on to give farmers perspective: how can livestock farmers continue their business if they are allowed to keep fewer animals? That plan must be ready before Prinsjesdag. For this, auxiliary troops were flown in by CU, Staghouwer’s party.
‘Lots to do, but charge the battery first’
Staghouwer himself will slow down from this weekend, he has four weeks of vacation. “There is a lot to do, but it is also necessary to charge the battery,” says the agriculture minister.
There is dissatisfaction about this within the coalition. “If I were him, I would do that at a later time,” says a coalition MP. “His work is far from finished,” says another.
Rutte stands up for Staghouwer and thinks that the perspective plan will be fine: “It is not the case that he is writing every day, a whole team is working on that.”