The European Commission has told the government of the Netherlands that the country will not be able to avail of a nitrates derogation into the new year.

The Dutch government had made a last minute pitch for a derogation, and had even cited Ireland's successful bid for a new derogation in its own arguments.

However, in a letter dated yesterday, the Dutch minister for agriculture, fisheries and food security Femke Wiersma informed the country's parliament that the European Commission had rejected the derogation request.

Minister Wiersma said in that letter (translated from Dutch): "The current derogation from the Nitrates Directive expires at the end of this year. Its impact on Dutch agriculture will be significant, and I am convinced that a form of derogation would be beneficial for both agriculture and the environment.

"On December 22, I received a letter from the European Commissioner [for Environment Jessika Roswall] regarding this matter... For farmers, the content of the letter from the European Commission means that it will not be possible to apply for a derogation permit in 2026 and that...a maximum of 170 kilograms of nitrogen from animal manure per hectare may be applied," the minister said.

Minister Wiersma labelled the decision "very disappointing".

"In my opinion, the ultimate goal of improving water quality should take precedence. As I indicated in the...request for a new derogation,on farms that used the derogation in 2023, the average nitrate concentration in the upper groundwater in most regions was below the standard of 50 milligrams per liter, due to the relatively large grassland area of these derogated farms," she said.

"Furthermore, phasing out the current derogation will have a very significant negative impact on farmers' income and future prospects, and there is a risk that more and more dairy farmers will convert their grassland plots to (more lucrative) arable land, with all the ensuing negative consequences for water quality," the minister added.