At the Agriculture Council on Monday 30 March, several European ministers called for the Nitrates Directive to be revised so that digestates and livestock effluent are no longer considered as waste, but as fertilisers.
The issue was raised by Italy, which points out in a note (https://aeur.eu/f/leh ) that digestate (a by-product of the anaerobic digestion of agricultural effluent and organic waste) can reduce fertilisation costs, maintain agricultural yields and strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy.
Italy has requested that Directive 91/676/EEC on nitrates make a clear distinction between digestate and conventional livestock effluent. It proposed that digestate should be recognised as a specific product of anaerobic digestion, with its own distinct characteristics. This distinction would allow digestate to be treated as a fertiliser alternative to chemical products, with usage limits tailored to production requirements.
“I support the need to review the environmental directives, particularly on water, nitrates and habitats,” said French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard.
Her counterparts from Finland, Luxembourg and Ireland shared this view. The Finnish Minister added that the simplification should also apply to the Birds and Habitats Directives. Luxembourg’s Martine Hansen argued that the Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package should be supplemented by “other ambitious measures, particularly concerning water, nitrates and the Habitats Directive”. Austria, alongside Belgium, used the debate to call for a review of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)