Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources^f1, and in particular the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III thereof,

Whereas:

By Decision 2002/915/EC^f2, the Commission granted a derogation requested by Denmark pursuant to Directive 91/676/EEC, allowing the application of livestock manure containing up to 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year on certain cattle holdings. That derogation was extended by Commission Decisions 2005/294/EC^f3 and 2008/664/EC^f4, and by Commission Implementing Decisions 2012/659/EU^f5, (EU) 2017/847^f6 and (EU) 2018/1928^f7.

The derogation granted by Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1928 for the period 2017/2018 concerned 1 312 cattle holdings, 396 000 livestock units (equivalent to 39,6 million kg N in livestock manure) and 198 195 hectares of arable land, corresponding respectively to 3,9 % of the total number of holdings, 18,1 % of the total nitrogen (N) in livestock manure applied and 8,2 % of the total net agricultural area.

By letter of 20 March 2020, Denmark submitted a request to the Commission for renewal of the derogation under the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC.

Denmark has an action programme in conformity with Article 5 of Directive 91/676/EEC, by means of parts of Executive Order No 760 of 30 June 2019 on Environmental Regulation of Animal Husbandry and the Storage and Use of Fertilisers, Act No 338 of 2 April 2019 on Agricultural Use of Fertilisers and on Nutrient-Reducing Measures as amended, Executive Order No 762 of 29 July 2019 on Agricultural Use of Fertilisers in the planning period 2019/2020, and Executive Order No 66 of 28 January 2020 on Nutrient-Reducing Measures and Agricultural-Related Measures in Agriculture for the planning period 2020/2021. As a supplement to those measures, Denmark performs a targeted regulation from 2019 pursuant to Act No 338 of 2 April 2019 on Agricultural Use of Fertilisers and on Nutrient-Reducing Measures as amended. In addition, the Danish legislation includes a general phosphorus regulation, according to Act No 256 of 21 March 2017 on Livestock Husbandry and Use of Fertilizers, and Order No 865 of 23 June 2017 on Commercial Livestock, Livestock Manure, Silage etc., now Order No 760 of 30 July 2019.

The Danish legislation implementing Directive 91/676/EEC includes limits for the application of nitrogen. Legislation limiting the application of phosphorus entered into force in August 2017.

The Danish legislation includes a combined targeted scheme for voluntary and mandatory catch crops for the period covered by this Decision. Under that scheme, the obligatory provisions for catch crops are to enter into force automatically if the voluntary agreements for catch crops fail to fulfil the environmental objectives. The areas under catch crops are in addition to the national requirement for mandatory catch crops pursuant to Act No 338 of 2 April 2019, as amended. The scheme is necessary to ensure that the application of the current derogation would not lead to deterioration of water quality.

The information provided by Denmark in the context of the derogation granted by Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1928 shows that the derogation is not leading to a deterioration of water quality as compared to areas not encompassed by the derogation. Data on the implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC for the period 2012 to 2015^f8 show that for groundwater 83,4 % of the monitoring sites have mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l, and 27,5 % below 25 mg/l. For fresh surface water, 99,4 % of the monitoring sites have mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l and 85,8 % of monitoring sites below 25 mg/l. Monitoring data show an overall stable trend in nitrate concentration in groundwater and fresh surface water as compared to the previous reporting period (2008 to 2011). Data on eutrophication show that 25 % of monitored lakes were classified as high/good status and 75 % as less than good status and that 2 out of 119 monitored estuarine/coastal water bodies were classified as good status.

The Commission, after examination of Denmark’s request on the basis of the elements described in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III of Directive 91/676/EEC and in the light of the experience gained from the derogation as provided for in Decisions 2002/915/EC, 2005/294/EC and 2008/664/EC, and Implementing Decisions 2012/659/EU, (EU) 2017/847 and (EU) 2018/1928, considers that the amount of manure envisaged by Denmark, namely 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, will not prejudice the achievement of the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC, subject to certain strict conditions as regards catch crops, phosphorus ceilings, crop rotation, application of manure and other fertilisers, soil sampling and analyses being met.

In farms authorised to apply livestock manure containing up to 230 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, fertilisation plans should be updated in a timely manner to ensure consistency with actual agricultural practices, while permanent vegetal cover of arable area and catch crops should be used to ensure recovering subsoil autumn losses of nitrates and limit nitrogen winter losses.

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f9 lays down general rules aimed at the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Union for the purposes of environmental policies of the Union and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. Where applicable, the spatial information collected in the context of this Decision should be in line with the provisions set out in that Directive. In order to reduce the administrative burden and enhance data coherence, Denmark, when collecting the necessary data under this Decision, should make use of the information generated under the Integrated Administration and Control System established pursuant to Chapter II of Title V of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f10.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Nitrates Committee set up pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 91/676/EEC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: