BRUSSELS — The Netherlands is rolling back its nitrogen reduction targets, setting the stage for a showdown with its own judges and Brussels over one of Europe’s most contentious environmental issues. The Dutch government on Friday confirmed it will push back its deadline to halve nitrogen emissions from 2030 to 2035, defying a recent court order and putting its green commitments at risk. The move, spearheaded by Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), is meant to give farmers more time to adapt, but could instead entrench a years-long standoff over how to cut pollution from intensive livestock farming. The decision comes despite a Dutch court ruling in January that ordered the government to meet its existing 2030 deadline to protect sensitive nature areas from nitrogen pollution, most of it from manure, with fertilizer use also contributing. Brussels may also weigh in, as the delay risks breaching the EU’s Habitats Directive, which obliges member states to prevent the deterioration of protected ecosystems and to restore them “within a short period.” The Netherlands has long been ground zero for Europe’s nitrogen crisis, with its high-density farming blamed for dumping excessive nitrogen into Natura 2000 conservation areas. The country ranks among the worst in the EU for nitrogen pollution per hectare, at around four times the European average — far more than its landscapes and protected habitats can absorb. Successive governments have struggled to square environmental obligations with farmer pushback, a conflict that helped topple the last coalition and fueled the rise of Wiersma’s BBB, which became the largest party in the Dutch Senate in 2023 and joined the national coalition government last year. FIVE MORE YEARS The new plan includes a €2.2 billion “starter package” to encourage farmers near vulnerable nature sites to downsize, relocate or invest in cleaner technologies. The package covers voluntary buyouts for livestock farmers, including €750 million for those who choose to shut down and €627 million for dairy producers who scale back. Another €100 million is set aside for nature restoration. The government is also preparing to overhaul how nitrogen is regulated. Up until now, Dutch policy has been based on how much nitrogen pollution settles in protected areas — the so-called critical deposition value (KDW). Wiersma’s plan signals a move away from that system toward setting emission limits directly at the source, on individual farms and factories. How those caps will be calculated remains unclear. “This plan offers perspective for farmers and space for innovation while we keep working toward nature recovery,” Wiersma told reporters ahead of the adoption. Environmental groups, legal experts and the Dutch state attorney had already warned in recent days that the plan could fail to meet judicial requirements, after details of the proposal began circulating in the Dutch press on Wednesday and Thursday. COURT RULING LOOMS In January, a Dutch court sided with Greenpeace in a case challenging the government’s slow progress on nitrogen reduction. The ruling ordered the state to cut pollution fast enough to bring at least half of all nitrogen-sensitive conservation areas below harmful thresholds by 2030. The judge cited the Netherlands’ obligations under the Habitats Directive, which prioritizes the health of protected ecosystems over economic flexibility. The government has appealed the decision but must comply with the ruling while that process is ongoing. By unilaterally shifting the target to 2035, Wiersma’s plan risks being seen as non-compliant with both the Dutch court and EU law, potentially exposing The Hague to further lawsuits and financial penalties. Environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Mobilization for the Environment (MOB), have already signaled they will take the government back to court if the delay goes ahead. Greenpeace called the adopted plan “an insult to the rule of law,” accusing it of lacking binding measures for agriculture, proper calculations or sufficient funding. BRUSSELS WATCHING The European Commission has so far held back from saying whether the Dutch delay is compatible with EU law, though officials in the environment department have repeatedly stressed that the Habitats Directive leaves little room to put off required action. “The Netherlands must put in place and implement effective measures to reduce nitrates and nitrogen pollution in order to meet the EU requirements on nature and water quality,” Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki told POLITICO. “It is up to the Dutch authorities to decide on effective measures to ensure compliance and reach agreed targets.” Commission lawyers are expected to review the Dutch plan following the government’s adoption of the package on Friday. Any failure to comply with EU law could eventually trigger infringement proceedings from Brussels.  The delay hands Wiersma’s BBB a political win with its rural base, at least for now, but risks locking the Netherlands into another round of courtroom battles at home and in Brussels. This story has been updated to include reaction from Greenpeace and the European Commission.

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column. There’s a war coming to EU! It’s been all over the news the past few days, but few seem to have noticed. And it’s not like people didn’t see it coming, we’ve experienced similar behavior in the past; pundits and political adversaries screaming at our TV screens in outrage, pointing fingers at the insensitivity and lack of understanding of foreign laws. But we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, this is what Donald Trump loves doing. He created chaos and allowed himself to bring home a nice trophy to add to his collection — why wouldn’t he do that? Donald Trump Junior, that is, not senior. Declassified always gets the two mixed up — they look so alike! Same name, the same sense of absolute charm and class about them, and most of all, the same unmistakable sparkle in the eye. But this time we’re definitely talking about the slightly less orange of the Donnies. Donny the Junior Menace was accused by Italian lawmakers of waging war on a rare species of ducks earlier this week. Ruddy shelduck (or Tadorna ferruginea) to be exact. A real cutie, google it. In a recently surfaced video, Trump Jr. appears to be hunting animals in a “Natura 2000” EU conservation zone in the Venice lagoon; an act that would break both Italian and EU environmental protection regulations. Donny is also showing off his deep knowledge and understanding of the animal kingdom by describing the wildlife he is seeing as “actually a rather uncommon duck for the area. Not even sure what it is in English.” The EU might be readying itself for the trade tariffs that are coming from the other Donald Trump, but Italians draw the line at ducklings. And so they unleashed the most powerful tool at their disposal: bureaucracy. Not one, but two (!!) separate parliamentary questions have been filed by local environmentalists and lawmakers, urging regional and national authorities to take action against the alleged crime against quack-anity. Declassified got its hands on a secret speech prepared by an Italian parliamentarian who definitely exists but shall remain nameless because of reasons, and it goes something like this: “We shall defend our ducks, whatever the cost may be. “We shall fight on the lagoon, we shall fight on the Rialto bridge, we shall fight in the canals and in the gondole, we shall fight in the cicchetterie. “We shall never surrender.” CAPTION COMPETITION “That man right there! That’s the last voter I have left, interview him!” Can you do better? Email us at gpoloni@politico.eu or get in touch on X @POLITICOEurope. Last week we gave you this photo: Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best from our postbag — there’s no prize except for the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or booze. “The European Commission tests new visual performance to keep Trump’s attention during tariff negotiations.” by Stefan de Koning

BRUSSELS — In naming Cypriot Costas Kadis commissioner for oceans and fisheries, Ursula von der Leyen has put a technocrat used to straddling the middle ground in charge of a fiercely contested, highly political brief. A conservation biologist by training, 57-year-old Kadis started his career in academia at the University of Athens and then moved back to his home country to work at the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus. In 2005, he established the Nature Conservation Unit at Frederick University. Kadis, who is an independent and not a member of any political party, entered into politics in 2007 when he became minister of health. Since then, he’s held various government positions including minister of education and culture in 2014-2018 and minister for agriculture, rural development and environment in 2018-2023. “Mr. Kadis is a  good technocrat, consensual and with a lot of experience in the relevant Ministries he had served in,” said Giorgos Georgiou, a Cypriot MEP with The Left group. These are qualities “that I think will help him cope successfully with the difficult post he has been assigned for the good of the EU.” Yiannos Katsourides, an associate professor in the Governance and Politics Department of the University of Nicosia, said that Kadis “is considered to be center-right and close to the [centrist] Democratic Party,” someone “with a low profile” that rarely gets involved in political fights. He added that Kadis is seen “mostly as an academic and less of a politician” but nonetheless as someone who “fits the bill for this position” because of his previous experience as a minister. As a minister in charge of agriculture and environment, Kadis fought for additional funding for struggling farmers, increased forest protection and tougher penalties for arsonists, and improved animal welfare. But he also came under fire after the Commission referred Cyprus to the EU’s top court earlier this year for failing to adequately manage a Natura 2000 protected site. TO DO LIST As Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Kadis will have the difficult task of bridging sometimes clashing interests, managing the economic profitability of the sector while ensuring its long-term environmental sustainability. In his mission letter, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked him to “ensure the EU leads global efforts to restore the health and security of the world’s ocean and support coastal communities across Europe.” She wants him to prepare “a vision for the fisheries sector with a 2040 perspective” that should provide new jobs and ensure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the fisheries sector. A conservation biologist by training, 57-year-old Costas Kadis started his career in academia at the University of Athens. | Pool Photo by John Thys via Getty Images Kadis is also tasked with drafting an “EU Ocean Research and Innovation Strategy” as well as a “European Oceans Pact” that should “focus on supporting resilient and healthy oceans and coastal areas, promoting the blue economy, managing the use of our seas and oceans coherently” and developing marine knowledge. Kadis will have to promote sustainable fishing both at home and globally and develop a new approach for the EU’s ocean diplomacy. He will also be in charge of fighting for the EU fleets to access neighboring waters, shield them from “unfair global competition,” and uphold the EU’s “international leadership with its zero tolerance approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.” But Kadis will also be required to work closely with his counterpart in charge of climate policy, as von der Leyen said she wants to “explore the feasibility of European blue carbon reserves” to provide new sources of revenues for people living on the coast while contributing to protecting marine ecosystems and absorbing CO2 emissions. Ocean conservation groups hope that with his background in biology Kadis will make environmental protection a core priority of his new job. “We trust that Prof. Kadis will fully understand that prosperous fishing communities and a thriving blue economy are entirely dependent on a healthy, abundant, and biodiverse ocean,” said Vera Coelho, deputy vice president for Europe of the NGO Oceana. Meanwhile, fishermen organizations warn that it shouldn’t be all of his job. Javier Garat, president of the fishing industry association Europêche, said he hoped Kadis would “restore the balance between biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, and food security — an equilibrium that was regrettably lacking in the previous legislative term.” Leonie Cater contributed to this story.