LTO Netherlands is angry at the behavior of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in issuing a nature permit for Schiphol Airport. The airport has the advantage, while PAS reporters remain in a state of uncertainty.
Outgoing Minister of Nature and Nitrogen Christiane van der Waals provided the airport with a nature permit, without taking the addition requirements into account. This is clear from the documents published this week.
This means, among other things, that the city of Schiphol has been allowed to fully use nitrogen rights from the purchase of farms in the area, despite European regulations requiring a mandatory 30 percent skimming to restore nature. If agricultural entrepreneurs purchase nitrogen rights from another company, they are committed to skimming.
Legalization of PAS correspondents
LTO is not satisfied with this situation. 'PAS correspondents who have always adhered to the law, and do not have a valid nature permit, through no fault of their own, have been waiting for certification for years. The Ministry continues to assure them that the addition condition prevents them from helping these farmers and their families.”
According to the LTO, the modus operandi surrounding Schiphol's natural statement shows that there is indeed room for interpretation and possibilities for legislation, if the sense of urgency is great enough. “We urge the Minister, based on the same sense of urgency, to bring forward a proposal before 2025 to legalize all PAS correspondents and temporary workers.”
The lawyer has been calling on the Minister for years to find a solution to the dire situation of PAS correspondents, temporary workers and exempt persons. The LTO also refers to previous statements by the Minister in which she indicated that a “top priority” was the legalization of PAS detectors.
Request a permit
Van der Waals confirms in a written response that Schiphol did not carry out any skimming. “When evaluating the permit application, the Ministry assumed that an additionality test was not necessary in the case of external netting between private parties, as in the case of Schiphol.”
According to Van der Waals, the Cabinet's position was that you cannot hold a private entity responsible for the state of nature. “It was only at the end of February 2024 that the Council of State finally ruled that netting between individuals should also be tested for additionality. We are now examining what this statement means,” she wrote.
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