The Netherlands and four other EU countries (Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Belgium) are reluctant to award higher (agricultural) subsidies to protesting farmers, as the other EU countries apparently want. This is evident from a letter that the other 22 member states sent to Green Deal Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.
If at least four of those five Member States vote against a proposal, this could prevent the required qualified majority. It is not yet clear whether concessions to the protesting farmers will require actual EU majority decisions.
European farmers have been protesting for several weeks against falling incomes and rising costs, against unfair import competition, and against Green Deal laws and climate regulations. In response, Brussels is now working on a package of 'relaxations' that will be discussed for the first time in a non-public informal LNV ministerial council next week (24 and 25 March).
The Belgian EU presidency has previously announced that it wants to present a first package of 'administrative' measures on March 15 to relieve the workload and burden in the agricultural sector. There will also be a survey among farmers until the autumn about what they see as good solutions.
“It is crucial for us to be able to communicate with farmers about the medium-term changes before autumn and make them as visible as possible,” the ministers of France, Spain, Poland and Italy, among others, said in their letter.
Dutch LNV Minister Piet Adema does not believe that agricultural policy should be expanded to such an extent that each country can satisfy its own farmers with its own rules and exceptions. In a letter to Parliament, Adema emphasizes that ambitions should not be lowered, but that the transition to a sustainable agricultural sector must be 'in line' with the ecological objectives.
In his letter to Parliament, Adema says nothing about the plea of his 22 EU colleagues, and nothing about the CAP agricultural subsidies. He does make it clear that he adheres to previous Dutch pleas on, among other things, animal welfare and food safety. He also looks ahead to a number of other environmental issues that are smoldering in the agricultural sector. He reiterates that the Netherlands insists that the fight against food waste requires reduction not only in households and the catering industry, but also in agriculture.
In his letter, Adema does anticipate the upcoming European evaluation of the Nitrate Directive, which could also lead to stricter requirements against soil and water pollution for Dutch livestock farming. The spreading of manure could also sometimes come under pressure. Adema links this Nitrate issue to the Dutch proposal (already submitted) for the admission of high-quality processed animal manure that meets the so-called Renure criteria.
He also reiterates that the Netherlands is committed to reducing chemical pesticides in agriculture. Adema will discuss this (and other issues) on Wednesday in Brussels with Environment Commissioner Virginius Sinkevicius. No details have been announced about the agenda for that discussion, except that LNV regularly consults with the European Commission at various levels. This agreement between the minister and Sinkevicius is an update at the Dutch request 'on various topics, such as making agriculture more sustainable'.