Prime Minister Mark Rutte believes the coalition can find a new approach to a number of ongoing problems in the Netherlands, such as nitrogen policy. “I think we can do that,” Rutte said after the second meeting about the results of the state election and the big victory for BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) last night.
D66 did not want to talk more about talks with the upper cabinet, including the CDA and ChristenUnie’s deputy prime ministers. D66 boss Sigrid Kaag, CDA boss Wopke Hoekstra and Deputy Prime Minister Carola Schouten’s departure message was: “We are still talking and will continue tomorrow”.
In the provincial council elections held more than two weeks ago, all four coalition parties lost votes, making the BBB the largest of all provinces. This prompted discussion at length at a separate meeting at the Federal Ministry of General Affairs about the “sign” of choosing the cabinet.
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After the first meeting last Tuesday evening, Rutte said improvements were needed in “a series of key processes”. He gave as examples the handling of earthquake damage in Groningen, the extortion event and the nitrogen policy. “The cabinet will talk to itself and the community in the coming period.” CDA boss Hoekstra predicted that the talks would certainly take several weeks.
One of the cabinet’s biggest problems is the nitrogen file, especially since D66 and CDA are diametrically opposed. The CDA wants policy relaxation and the D66 wants to commit to 50 percent fewer nitrogen emissions by 2030.
Earlier in the evening, before the cabinet meeting, it was announced that EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius sent a letter to Minister Christianne Van der Wal with a message not to delay nitrogen policy. He attributes the Netherlands to nitrogen agreements and says that the maximum nitrogen precipitation that a nature reserve can handle should not be exceeded in any Natura2000 site.
suspicion
This intensified the negotiations in the Rutte Ministry, but also caused distrust among the various factions in the House of Representatives. BBB boss Caroline Van der Plas described it as a very strange letter just before the cabinet meeting. “Perhaps I am too skeptical. But it looks like a carefully chosen design.”
European Parliament Member Pieter Omtzigt last night asked the public to have immediate access to all communications regarding this letter from the European Commission. He describes the letter as “so striking” that he wants to know “how it came to be”. SGP MP Bisschop also thinks there is more behind him. “You wonder which group has such a short streak with Brussels. And who owns this fingerprint in this leak?”
The cabinet is now preparing a letter to the House of Representatives ahead of next week’s debate on the election results. The cabinet will therefore continue to work on it tomorrow. It is not yet possible to say whether this letter contains specific information about the future nitrogen approach.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
