The European Commission is threatening legal action against Ireland, Flanders and Austria because they are doing too little to combat nitrate contamination of their groundwater and drinking water. Such a legal step could – just as it did against Germany a few years ago – result in mandatory fines worth millions.
Like the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany also recently lost their EU derogation rights, which means that less manure can be spread in those countries. The new right-wing Dutch coalition government, including a ministerial delegation from the agricultural-oriented BBB party, is trying to obtain an extension of the derogation exception from Brussels.
Brussels has been working on updating the Nitrate Directive for some time and wants to fix it again for ten years in 2027. Because it is already clear from samples and measurements that many EU countries are far from achieving their nitrate criteria, this is now being enforced more strictly.
This problem has been known for some time and several countries have previously had to deal with stricter regulations and sanctions. Germany narrowly avoided paying many millions in 2022 by - finally - further limiting or completely banning the spreading of manure in several vulnerable areas.
In response to the threat of legal action, the Flemish government has announced that it has already taken various measures to reduce nitrate pollution. However, the European Commission judges that these measures are not yet sufficient to meet European standards. In February last year, the European Commission took Belgium to court over poor water quality due to nitrate pollution in Wallonia. But that case was closed because Wallonia approved a new manure action plan a month later.
Ireland is also under pressure from the European Commission. Ireland's agricultural sector, a key economic pillar, is concerned about the impact of stricter nitrate standards. Farmers in Ireland are already facing uncertainty due to the loss of their EU derogation rights. This has a direct impact on their business operations and can lead to higher costs and lower revenues.
The situation in Austria is comparable to that in Ireland and Flanders. Despite efforts by the Austrian government to improve water quality, recent reports from the European Commission show that the measures have had insufficient effect.
Nitrate pollution is a major environmental problem because it can lead to harmful algal blooms in waters, which threaten biodiversity and deteriorate drinking water quality. The European Union has therefore drawn up strict guidelines to combat this form of pollution, as laid down in the Water Framework Directive.