(theme image) — © Hollandse Hoogte / Flip Franssen
The much-discussed Flemish nitrogen decree or the decree “on the programmatic approach to nitrogen” was published on Thursday in the Belgian Official Gazette.
With the nitrogen decree, the Flemish majority (N-VA, CD&V, Open VLD) wants to reduce the amount of ammonia and nitrogen oxides that end up in our nature. The aim of the ‘Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen’ (PAS) is to significantly reduce nitrogen emissions by 2030. With the decree, the majority also wants to avoid a threatened permit freeze in one move.
After a procession from Echternach, the Flemish majority reached a new nitrogen agreement in November 2023. This was subsequently converted into a decree and that decree was approved in the Flemish Parliament on January 24, despite critical advice from the Council of State. The decree has now also been published in the Belgian Official Gazette.
Now that the publication in the Staatsblad is a fact, Boerenbond can start the announced procedure at the Constitutional Court. The agricultural organization has been told that, together with a law firm, it is still being determined exactly which procedure will be chosen. For a suspension there is a period of three months after publication, for a partial or complete annulment of the decree there is a period of six months.