The votes of government parties ensured new nitrogen legislation was approved by the Flemish Parliament last night. Despite significant objections from the Council of State, Belgium’s highest administrative body that vets laws, the Flemish government pushed ahead with the legislation to avoid a permit freeze that would affect both citizens and companies.
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Flemish government presses through nitrogen law as licence freeze threatened
Colin Clapson
Published:
The government is taking a big risk, as the Farmers Union, Boerenbond, has already announced it will take the matter to the Constitutional Court and challenge the new regulations.
What is at issue?
Nitrogen emissions in Flanders are too high and this is detrimental to the environment and humans. Without fresh legislation companies and citizens faced a permit freeze.
After much wrangling, governing parties last year reached an agreement.
However, the Council of State was highly critical of the draft text, because it did not always elaborate on the nitrogen rules.
Despite Council of State objections parties of the Flemish nationalist, Christian democrat, liberal coalition approved the bill last night.
Opponents of the legislation have already been sharpening their knives as the Flemish law also creates legal uncertainty because it is not deemed to be legally robust enough.
The Farmers Union, for instance, has already announced that it will go to the Constitutional Court if the law was approved. Armed with the advice of the Council of State, the agriculture lobby has solid arguments to have the law scrapped.
On the other hand, Flemish employers' association Voka and the chemicals federation Essenscia are happy with the nitrogen law because, according to them, there is now once again clarity on the rules for obtaining permits.