Will there be a nitrogen agreement tonight after all?
Negotiations on the nitrogen issue have been going on with difficulty all day. Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon only intended to convene his core cabinet when an agreement was in sight. And now he has. The top ministers have been sitting together since 6.30 pm.
Earlier this weekend Jambon, together with Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA), put an ‘unblocking proposal’ on the table, but that would not go far enough for coalition partner CD&V. N-VA wants a drastic reduction in nitrogen emissions, CD&V mainly thinks of farmers.
Two heavy floats
Eleven of the thirteen bottlenecks in the file have now been resolved, including the red list of companies that must close. What remains are the two hardest hitters: the unequal treatment of agriculture and industry and the so-called net metering.
If there are three farms near a nature reserve and one of them closes, the emission margin of that company should be able to transfer to the remaining two, CD&V believes.
It remains to be seen whether Jambon can conclude a nitrogen deal on Sunday evening. The Flemish head of government himself had said that he wanted an agreement before the end of this week.