A Dutch top official held talks last week in Madrid with the Spanish drafters of that wishlist, after which the Dutch plea was added as one of the main elements of the package. Many ministers hinted on Monday that they believe the European Commission should finally make decisions about approving new products as replacements for artificial fertilizers.
Previous reports by EU experts have shown that the results of the Dutch pilot project suggest it is less polluting to the environment than ordinary manure. Allegedly, the European Commission wants to adhere to the criterion that processed and purified fertilizer substitute is still considered an 'animal product'.
In that case, it may not be used without restriction everywhere. Wojciechowski declined to comment on this and referred to his presentation in the coming spring.
Wojciechowski did make clear that unlocking the financial agricultural crisis reserve will not make much difference. That crisis fund contains about 450 million euros, while rough estimates already predict billions in higher fertilizer bills across the entire EU. Moreover, that money can only be used if all 27 countries agree, which is not yet the case.
The Spanish plan with ‘directly executable projects’ was submitted by the EU ministers in Brussels out of dissatisfaction with the recent artificial fertilizer announcement by Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. He left potential compensation for the expensive fertilizer to the national governments and said he will come forward in the spring with a plan for approving nature-friendly agricultural products. It is still unclear what criteria any new products will have to meet.