After the May recess, in three weeks’ time, the House of Representatives will discuss the nitrogen fund, with which the cabinet wants to buy out farms and make them more sustainable. Today’s debate got so far that Minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) did not speak again.
The debate started at 11.30 am, but nine hours later only the MPs had had their say. If the first term of the cabinet had continued, it would undoubtedly have become night work. A majority thought that was not wise and that is why the debate is now being lifted over the May recess.
This happened at the suggestion of the CDA, which insisted on more time for a careful handling of the law. The other coalition parties agreed, as did the BBB and a number of other opposition parties.
Today it became clear that there is still not enough support for the arrival of the fund, which should receive more than 24 billion euros. The cabinet hopes for the support of opposition parties for a majority in the Senate.
‘Thousand things cloth’
But BBB leader Caroline van der Plas made it clear that she will not support the law that makes this ‘transition fund’ possible “in this form”. She thinks that far too much has to be arranged with the billions; not only tackling the nitrogen problem, but also the reduction of greenhouse gases and the improvement of water quality depend on it.
In the eyes of Van der Plas, this makes the fund a “thousand things cloth” and she does not want that. Moreover, far too much money has been reserved for the possible forced buy-out of farmers.
According to the BBB, buying out is not at all effective. Van der Plas calculated that if the cabinet buys a hypermodern housing system for every livestock farmer, it will be cheaper and will yield more nitrogen profit.
According to other parties, this is a short-term solution that does nothing for the climate and water quality. They advocate an integrated approach to make agriculture more sustainable.
Goals clearer
If the cabinet wants to achieve a majority on the fund ‘on the left’, it will have to make clear exactly which plans will be paid for with it. Parties such as GroenLinks and the PvdA believe that money is spent too easily, while it is not clear exactly which goals should be achieved.
The coalition parties are no longer in agreement on this. D66 still thinks that in order to achieve the nature objectives, it is necessary to halve nitrogen emissions by 2030, as also agreed in the coalition agreement.
For the CDA in particular, that year is no longer sacred. That party wants to renegotiate the coalition agreement in some time.
As it stands now, the debate on the nitrogen fund will continue on Wednesday 10 May. President of the House of Representatives Bergkamp wants to spend the whole day on it.
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