Minister Christianne van der Wal (VVD) says it is ‘terrible’, but she has no intention of watering down the nitrogen policy because of great social and political resistance to the plans.
During question time on Tuesday, the VVD minister anticipated the plans she will present next Friday. That will be a painful day for many farmers. “It is clear that very little is possible in a number of areas,” said the minister straight-up.
On Friday she and Minister Henk Staghouwer (Agriculture, ChristenUnie) will present what is needed per area to restore nature, and what perspective farmers still have. The next day, Van der Wal will have to defend her plans against fellow party members at the congress of the VVD, the party of which she herself was chair until recently.
‘Don’t do this to the Netherlands’
Many party members do not like those nitrogen plans at all, this newspaper revealed yesterday. More than four hundred VVD members will submit a motion to the party congress on Saturday in which they call on the cabinet and the House of Representatives faction: ‘Don’t do this to the Netherlands. Don’t let nitrogen stop all progress and suffocate our country.’ There is also resistance within coalition party CDA.
Van der Wal has to announce on Friday that in some cases nitrogen emissions must be drastically reduced, by 70 to 80 percent and in the Veluwe even by 100 percent. This is done to give nature the opportunity to recover.
Van der Wal says to critical party members and farmers who threaten demonstrations again: “We don’t have any choice.” In 2019, the Council of State put an end to the old nitrogen policy, which was far too non-committal. As a result, the country was locked: it was not possible to continue building roads and houses. Since then, it has become much more difficult to obtain a building permit, for example.
clarity
According to the VVD politician, there is no other way. The only thing the cabinet can really offer farmers is clarity, she says. “At the same time, I say: I think it’s terrible.” She hopes that the plans that Staghouwer presents on Friday offer enough prospects for the farmers who do continue to farm.
The implementation of the drastic reduction in nitrogen emissions is in the hands of the provinces. Members of parliament think the plan that has been announced so far is far too drastic. They believe that the focus is now only on farmers, while the industry also emits toxic substances. Boards of Gelderland, Brabant and Overijssel, provinces that would be hit hardest by the nitrogen reduction, do not want to respond substantively to the cabinet plan. The responsible deputies want to await the presentation on Friday.
That will be a black day for many farmers. According to Van der Wal, this is because ‘we have not kept to the agreements for years’. She argues that it took too long to take measures. According to her, the cabinet only does the ‘homework’. “This is a bit like the day we all knew would come,” said the minister. “We have to get through this.”
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