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In principle, the Netherlands is positive about European plans for further reduction of air pollution from livestock farming, but believes that an impact study should be initiated first.
Due to the expansion of European environmental laws, more pig and poultry farms will soon fall under the so-called Industrial Emissions Directive (RIE).
In a recent letter to Parliament, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality says that the criterion for pig and poultry farms will be lowered to 300 breeding sows, 500 fattening pigs or other pigs, 10,714 laying hens and 5,000 broilers or other chickens.
In addition, the RIE expansion will add cattle farming from 150 animals and the greenhouse gas methane will also be counted from now on.
As it stands, the current guidance covers approximately 4% from the pig and poultry farms in the EU. The European Commission wants to expand this. As a result, 13% of the largest cattle, pig and poultry farms will soon fall under it, which are jointly responsible for 60% of ammonia and 43% of methane emissions from the livestock sector.
The EU countries will insist again next week in Brussels that the administration and accounting for the agricultural companies concerned remains as limited as possible. The Netherlands (like several other countries) believes that the consequences for the livestock farms that will soon fall under the RIE should first be mapped out.
There is a lot of opposition in the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament to the name of the new RIE scheme. They believe that the terminology 'industrial' is not applicable to animal and livestock farming.
