2023-08-04 16:43:08
The Council of State confirms the ministerial instruction of Zuhal Demir which allowed to grant permits. Except that in the meantime the ministerial instruction has been withdrawn.
The Council of State rejected the request for suspension introduced by the Boerenbond against the instruction of the Flemish Minister for the Environment, Zuhal Demir, relating to the assessment of nitrogen emissions in the context of permit applications. In the meantime, the Minister herself has already withdrawn this instruction.
After the failure of discussions in the government on a decree reflecting the agreement reached in the nitrogen file, Zuhal Demir issued a ministerial “instruction” to avoid a freeze on the issuance or extension of licenses.
In the aftermath, the N-VA and the Open Vld had decided to introduce the nitrogen decree in parliament without the support of their coalition partner, the CD&V. The two parties had then indicated that the ministerial instruction would be null and void.
The Boerenbond and the ABS (Algemeen Boerensyndicaat), however, did not interrupt their approach to the Council of State in order to be certain that the instruction was indeed withdrawn. The administrative court rejected on Friday this request for suspension of the instruction.
The Boerenbond had also lodged a motion to suspend another instruction from Minister Demir relating to the objective of reducing the pig herd by 30%and describing this aim as “a desirable political development”.
In another judgment delivered on Friday, the Council of State considers that the agricultural union and the few Flemish farms which had joined the appeal “do not demonstrate the extreme urgency to be able to order the suspension of the execution of the ministerial instruction”.
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