Cabinet stands firm on nitrogen plans after heated debate

Agricultural minister Jaimi van Essen has refused to soften the cabinet’s nitrogen reduction plans, telling MPs during a debate that ran past midnight he is “wary” of any changes that could put the targets out of reach.

“It is a coherent whole, and parts of the package cannot be weakened without consequences,” Van Essen said, warning that dilution would risk a return to “standstill”.

The package agreed last week requires farmers to cut ammonia emissions by 42% to 46% by 2035, sets a limit of 2.6 cows per hectare and establishes low-nitrogen buffer zones around 100 protected nature areas.

For farmers inside the zones, that means shrinking their herds, switching to new techniques, relocating or giving up their businesses altogether – with compulsory livestock cuts across the board if voluntary measures fall short.

The plans are the coalition’s attempt to comply with a 2019 Council of State ruling on European nitrogen limits, which has held up permits for housing and infrastructure projects for seven years.

Support from the left
The cabinet secured a majority in the lower house of parliament this week when the left-wing party PRO (Progressief Nederland) pledged its support, but with the condition that the plans would not be watered down.

“I am warning you now,” PRO MP Laura Bromet told CDA MP Harmen Koorevaar, who had asked whether parts of the package could be adjusted. “This plan must not be weakened.”

That stance angered opposition parties hoping to soften the impact on farmers, with ChristenUnie MP Pieter Grinwis accusing PRO of imposing a “dictate”. Bromet said the party was entitled to its position “without immediately being branded a dictator”.

JA21, which had said it was prepared to “extend a hand” to the cabinet, withdrew shortly after midnight because “not a millimetre” was being moved on the buffer zones or the cow limit.

The cabinet still needs a handful of extra seats in the senate, which it hopes to find among the PvdD, SP or Volt.

Tractors in The Hague
Outside parliament, farmers staged a mostly calm protest, with 20 tractors allowed near the building as a “symbolic” presence under an agreement between the dairy farmers’ union NMV and The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen.

Police stopped other tractors on the edge of the city under an emergency order and arrested five farmers. Inside, the public gallery was packed with farmers, and one person was removed for shouting at ministers.

The measures must now be turned into legislation, with the first bill expected in October, when parliament will debate the plans again.