19/12/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 19 December, the European Commission approved the introduction in the Netherlands of a trading system for phosphate production rights for dairy farming. Rights will be allocated free of charge from 1 January 2018 to dairy farms, which will be able to produce phosphate from the manure from dairy cattle only in line with these rights. As these rights are tradable, however, they may be purchased. In the process of these purchase operations, 10% of the rights will be taken and paid into a "phosphate bank" which may allocate temporary, non-tradable rights to "land-related holdings". This aims to encourage the limitation of phosphate production from dairy cattle and support land-related farming. Although this measure constitutes state aid, the Commission found that it had an environmental purpose and therefore authorised it. (LT)