EU Commission: €715 million approved for Dutch state aid to cut ammonia emissions near Natura 2000 areas

The European Commission has given the green light to a €715 million Dutch state aid scheme designed to permanently reduce ammonia emissions from livestock farms, as part of a broader push to restore nature in areas under environmental strain, on 23/07/2026.

The scheme, granted under the EU's state aid rules, targets ammonia pollution that settles as nitrogen deposition on Natura 2000 sites, a network of protected nature areas across the Netherlands that are already overburdened by excess nitrogen.

The scheme works by offering farmers a way to voluntarily and permanently shut down livestock operations that are contributing to the problem, with closures being definitive and irrevocable once agreed.

This scheme is part of an established and continuous strategy of the Netherlands to tackle the…