Belgium in trouble with EU over nitrate pollution in Flanders

The European Commission is taking Belgium to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the grounds that Flanders is not doing enough to combat agricultural nitrate pollution.

“In recent years, groundwater and surface water pollution has worsened considerably in the Flemish region, and these waters are among the most polluted in the European Union,” the Commission said in an announcement.

The Flemish authorities are well aware of this pollution, which is regularly highlighted in reports on the use of animal manure to fertilise the soil.

Excess nitrate, which is no longer absorbed by plants, ends up in streams and percolates into groundwater, a form of pollution that “represents a risk to humans and the environment”, the Commission said.

“The problem has been known about for years, but the Flemish region has still not taken the necessary measures,” it added.

Belgium was the subject of a similar court procedure last year, but for Wallonia. The region’s decade-old "sustainable management programme" for nitrogen did not meet the requirements of the Nitrates Directive.

The directive requires a comprehensive monitoring programme for nitrate pollution of water and the designation of vulnerable zones where action must be taken to counter pollution. It also sets maximum quantities, per surface area, for the use of nitrogen from livestock effluent.

The case against Wallonia was dropped following the adoption of a new sustainable nitrogen management programme.

These new proceedings before the CJEU could result in financial penalties.

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