The European Commission has refused to extend the Netherlands’ exemption from EU water rules, warning of “very serious challenges” in managing agricultural pollution.
The Netherlands currently benefits from an exemption, set to expire at the year’s end, that allows its farmers to spread more manure than the EU’s standard limit of 170kg of nitrogen per hectare under the Nitrates Directive.
The directive aims to protect water bodies from agricultural run-off, particularly nitrate pollution caused by fertiliser and manure.
Despite intense lobbying in Brussels, the Dutch caretaker government failed to secure an extension of the current benefits. As a result, the EU-wide manure cap will apply from 2026.
EU environment chief Jessika Roswall said pollution levels in the country left the Commission little choice.
“The Netherlands continues to face very serious challenges in managing nitrates and nitrogen. A further derogation would add to these pressures,” reads a letter sent to Dutch Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma this week.
Addressing the Dutch parliament on Tuesday, Wiersma called the decision “very disappointing”.
She warned that stricter manure limits would hit dairy farmers’ incomes and could push them to convert grassland into arable land, which she said might backfire environmentally by increasing nitrate run-off.
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While Ireland was the only other EU country with a similar derogation, it recently secured a Commission proposal for a renewed exemption under stricter conditions, running until the end of 2028.
In her letter, Roswall pointed to possible relief for Dutch farmers through a separate Commission plan to relax rules on manure-based fertilisers, known as RENURE. The proposal is under scrutiny by the Parliament and the Council until 8 January.
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