This is the opinion of various sources surrounding the nitrogen consultation. The eight large farmers’ organisations, including LTO Nederland, are still considering taking up the offer. However, according to those involved, the omens are a lot more favorable than on Tuesday morning. At the time, the agricultural organizations indicated that they refused a new meeting with Remkes.
In a new agenda, Remkes has made room for discussions about the approximately three thousand PAS detectors, i.e. companies that have been locked up for three years due to the nitrogen crisis. The politically chosen deadline of 2030, instead of 2035, can also be discussed in order to achieve the government’s goals. Remkes also makes room for a discussion about innovations as a way to reduce nitrogen emissions.
Farmers’ organizations have so far demanded that the cabinet must first move on these points in order to start new negotiations at all. The question is whether the cabinet offers room for this on Wednesday morning. Within the cabinet, the CDA has asked to let go of 2030, but officially Prime Minister Rutte has always adhered to the highly controversial policy of his party colleague Van der Wal.
On Tuesday morning it was announced that Van der Wal had done ‘homework’, but it still seemed completely unclear to the farmers’ organizations whether the cabinet wanted to make any rapprochement. “We see in this invitation and otherwise no indication of the cabinet to really move on points that are crucial for us,” wrote chairman Bart-Jan Oplaat of the Dutch Trade Union Poultry Farmers to Remkes on Tuesday morning.
stalemate
The question is whether a conversation on Wednesday can start to remove the great mistrust between the agricultural sector and The Hague. Remkes was appointed when fierce farmers’ protests broke out at the beginning of this summer after the publication of the nitrogen map by Minister Van der Wal. Prime Minister Rutte later assessed the card as ‘twitch’, but there was nevertheless no question of a rapprochement by the cabinet.
Should Remkes’s mediation attempt fail, there is a chance that farmers’ protests will break out again.