After a hectic day of negotiations, the Flemish government managed to reach a mutual agreement on Thursday evening. Late in the evening the finishing touches were still being put on it. The most important discussion, the one about the stop on the purchase of agricultural land, was ultimately settled with a half-pause button. Read: there will indeed be a temporary stop on the purchase of agricultural land until October. That was an important demand from CD&V. An exception is provided for the construction of cycle paths or other important infrastructure.
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At the same time, N-VA minister Zuhal Demir also achieved an important victory. An exception is still provided for all European protected nature reserves. The government can therefore still purchase land there. CD&V accepts this wholeheartedly, but still wants to make it an election theme.
In addition, there are a number of concessions with which the Flemish government is trying to accommodate farmers, including the cancellation of zero fertilization in the VEN area – although a study could still reverse this – fewer administrative burdens and a simpler procedure for those who want to make adjustments. for the nitrogen objectives.
In addition, a working group will be set up with agricultural and nature organizations to jointly draw up spatial policy and carry out a planning exchange between agricultural and nature reserves. However, this still has to take concrete form.
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Agony
The road to a farmers’ pact again became an ordeal. Jambon’s team already bought extra time after a failed meeting on Monday. But once again a marathon meeting proved unavoidable. The whole day we sat together in various formations to hammer out an agreement: with the government separately, with the farmers separately, all together or a meeting between opposites Jo Brouns (Minister of Agriculture, CD&V) and Zuhal Demir (Minister of the Environment). , N-VA).
Moreover, the ministers did not exude confidence in bringing the agreement to a successful conclusion. The Flemish government has suffered serious damage in recent days. It is still shocking that a draft text from the meeting on Monday was leaked to the nature associations Bond Beter Leefmilieu and Natuurpunt.
The two nature associations managed to squeeze themselves into the debate again on Thursday. With a well-targeted press release, they once again expressed their concerns about the texts that the government and the farmers were discussing. Many of those proposals are legally shaky, they warned. They see it as a matter of time before the concessions to farmers lead to fines from Europe because Flemish nature is insufficiently protected. “The coalition agreement must be honoured,” it said.
The associations felt compelled to respond, because CD&V has been monitoring Natuurpunt for some time. The party believes that the association should stop buying up agricultural land with the help of government subsidies, and made this a point of contention.
Judascus
Whether farmers like the text or not says little about how the farmers’ demonstrations will evolve. These are not controlled by the discussion partners Boerenbond, Algemeen Boerensyndicaat or the Groene Kring, but from WhatsApp groups. Recent actions at the ports of Ghent and Antwerp were initiated by a handful of disgruntled young farmers.
Negotiation is not within their grasp. After a meeting with Demir in Antwerp, the group first felt satisfied and then “betrayed”, spreading it via social media. Demir’s warm greeting of the farmers with a kiss is already called “the Judas kiss” among farmers.
The activists on WhatsApp are not yet thinking about stopping. A convoy of tractors did not wait for white smoke from Brussels to take on the night shift in the port of Ghent. They are also planning promotions for the weekend.
