The organisation representing Flemish farmers Boerenbond has lodged a legal procedure to Belgium’s State Council over the Flemish government’s nitrogen policy agreement.
Farmers have been campaigning against the agreement, as they deem it is violating their property rights.
The regional government had agreed to cut its nitrogen emissions by 50% over the next seven years, amid pressure from the EU to achieve its environmental goals.
However, the policy was criticised by Flemish farmers with a massive tractor convoy protesting in front of the government’s offices in Brussels. At the time, they were concerned about the impact the nitrogen agreement would have on farming permits.
The initial agreement had imposed stricter requirements if farmers were found to have massively emitted nitrogen, before finally agreeing to loosen these conditions.
Nonetheless, Flanders’ farmers are still unhappy and are claiming that the regional government has not yet adjusted its initial agreement to address their concerns, with Boerenbond demanding that the State Council annul the measure.
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It remains to be seen whether the Flemish Government will concede to farmers’ demands, with the regional heads wary of repeating scenes seen from the neighbouring Netherlands.
After facing farmer protests of their own over nitrogen policy in 2022, Dutch voters placed their confidence in the centre-right agrarian BoerBurgerBeweging party ("Farmer Citizen Movement"). They won 15 seats in the Dutch senate elections earlier this year, results which should give food for thought to Flemish politicians ahead of next year's regional elections.
