Yesterday it became clear that lengthy consultations between the cabinet and the farmers’ parties, which Prime Minister Mark Rutte also joined, had not resulted in an agreement. That chance was already considered small in advance.
‘I will continue to have faith in this process’, writes Adema in the letter to Parliament. “But we’re not there yet.” An important reason why the consultations have not yet collapsed is that it is also problematic for both the cabinet and the farmers’ organizations if no agreement is reached.
The parties involved have formulated an advanced concept on the points on which they agree. This concept is now passing to the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency and Wageningen University. Meanwhile talks continue on about four points on which an agreement has not yet been reached.
They still have two or three weeks to do it. And then an agreement has yet to be reached,’ says Beekman. “That agreement must then be sent to the base and it must also be calculated. Then it still has to go to the House of Representatives and the Council of Ministers. It will take weeks.’
Hard commitments
There is still disagreement over manure and soil, among other things. This determines how many cows can graze on one hectare. In addition, the management of nature is also discussed. Beekman: ‘If farmers are made co-responsible for managing nature, what will they get in return?’ There is also talk of farmers who will not be redeemed, and of PAS journalists who will have to be legalized.
According to Beekman, farmers’ organizations no longer believe the promises made by the government. “They really want firm commitments for that to be reflected in budgets.”
There has been talk of a new agricultural agreement for months. According to Beekman, one of the biggest questions on the table right now is whether talking longer is still helpful. “Are you ever going to work this out?”
However, the fear is that if he pulls the plug on the talks now, nothing can be achieved. “Then the minister will go to work and then the peasants will have nothing more to say.”
“The question is if you talk any longer, will it become more impossible than suddenly possible?” I’m quite skeptical about it
Beekman indicates that interest groups are being asked for something, which is actually too difficult. “If you ask a farmers’ association to cut the herd in half, they will never promise to do it. The same goes for supermarkets. They are welcome to pay extra fees. Of course they never will.’
According to Beekman, these are political issues that shouldn’t be asked of an interest group. “The question is if you talk any longer, will it become more impossible than suddenly possible?” I’m quite skeptical about it.’
expiration
Evaluations from these organizations must be received by the end of May. Meanwhile, the talks continue. According to the Agriculture Ministry, it is not yet clear when the main parties will physically meet again. The ‘main table’ will therefore meet in June and Adema is hoping for a decision. The minister has often stressed recently that a sustained deal is more important than a deadline.