REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member State reports for the period 2016–2019
Date: 2021-10-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, chemical salt, groundwater, pollution control measures, pollution from agricultural sources, surface water, water analysis, water pollution, water protection, water requirements

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.10.2021  COM(2021) 1000 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member State reports for the period 2016–2019 {SWD(2021) 1001 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection  
of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based  
on Member State reports for the period 2016–2019 

1. 

WHAT THE PROBLEM IS 

Nutrients  such  as  nitrogen  (N)  and  phosphorus  (P)  are  essential  elements  for  the 
plants. They are often used as fertilisers in agriculture to guarantee higher yields and 
quality products. However, the increasing demand in food production has resulted in 
an  increased  production  and  use  of  fertilisers  associated  with  considerable 
inefficiencies, leading to pollution of water, air and soil, affecting human health and 
the environment. 

At a global level,  N and P surplus into the environment are already  exceeding safe 
planetary boundaries, representing a severe threat to nature as well as to the climate1. 
Europe makes a considerable contribution to this form of pollution and the European 
Environment  Agency  (EEA)  estimates  that  in  Europe  the  limit  for  N  losses  is 
exceeded by a factor of 3.3 and the limit for P losses by a factor of 22.  
The  Biodiversity3  and  the  Farm  to  Fork4  strategies  set  a  common  objective  of 
reducing  nutrient  losses  in  the  environment  by  at  least  50%  by  2030,  while 
preserving soil fertility. Council Directive 91/676/EEC5 concerning the protection of 
waters  against  pollution  caused  by  nitrates  from  agricultural  sources  (“the  Nitrates 
Directive”) is a key piece of legislation to achieve this target and other objectives of 
the EU Green Deal6. 

The Nitrates Directive constitutes also a basic measure under the Water Framework 
Directive  (WFD)7,  which  requires  all  European  surface  waters  –  lakes,  rivers, 
transitional  and  coastal  water,  and  groundwater  –  to  reach  “good  status”  by  latest 
2027.  Together  with  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  (UWWTD)8,  the 
Nitrates  Directive  plays  a  key  role  in  improving  the  status  of  EU  water  bodies,  as 
nutrient  pollution  is  one  of  the  main  causes  for  failure  of  good  status9,10. 

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10 

Steffen,  W.,  et  al.,  2015,  'Planetary  boundaries:  guiding  human  development  on  a  changing  planet', 
Science, 347(6223), p. 1259855. 
Joint  EEA/FOEN  Report  (2020)  Is  Europe  living  within  the  limits  of  our  planet?  An  assessment  of 
Europe's environmental footprints in relation to planetary boundaries 
Communication from the Commission - EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 - Bringing nature back into 
our lives, COM/2020/380 final 
Communication  from  the  Commission  -  A  Farm  to  Fork  Strategy  for  a  fair,  healthy  and 
environmentally-friendly food system, COM/2020/381 final 
Council  Directive  (91/676/EEC)  concerning  the  protection  of  waters  against  pollution  caused  by 
nitrates from agricultural sources 
Communication from the Commission - The European Green Deal, COM/2019/640 final 
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a 
framework for Community action in the field of water policy   
Council Directive concerning urban waste water treatment (91/271/EEC) 
European waters -- Assessment of status and pressures 2018 — European Environment Agency 
SWD(2019) 30 final - A European Overview of the second River Basin Management Plans  

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Furthermore,  the  Nitrates  Directive  is  an  essential  instrument  to  prevent  nutrient 
pollution  of  coastal  and  marine  waters  under  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive (MSFD)11,12. 

The Nitrates Directive requires Member States to: 

– 

– 

identify  waters  affected  and  at  risk  of  being  affected  by  nitrates  pollution  as 
well as designate as Nitrates Vulnerable  Zones (NVZ) the areas draining into 
these waters where agriculture contributes significantly to this pollution; 

develop  action  programmes  with  measures  reducing  and  preventing  nitrates 
pollution,  apply  such  programmes  to  NVZ  or  to  the  whole  territory,  and  to 
reinforce  these  measures  as  soon  as  it  appears  that  they  are  not  sufficient  to 
achieve the objectives of the Directive. 

It also requires the Commission to inform the European Parliament and the Council 
every  four  years  on  the  state  of  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  based  on 
Member States reports.  

This report is accompanied by a Staff Working Document (SWD(2021) 1001) which 
includes  maps  and  tables  on  indicators  of  nutrient  pressures  from  agricultural 
sources, water quality and designated NVZ. 

2. 

EVOLUTION OF PRESSURES FROM AGRICULTURE 
Agricultural area and livestock13   

The  EU  agricultural  area  covers  around  47%  of  the  total  EU27+UK  area.  The 
agricultural output increased by 14.5% between 2010 and 2019. 

Livestock  production  is  responsible  for  an  estimated  81%  of  agricultural  nitrogen 
input to aquatic systems and 87% of the ammonia from  agriculture emission to the 
atmosphere14.  

The highest livestock densities, expressed in livestock unit per hectare, were found in 
the  Netherlands  (3.8),  with  an  increasing  trend  since  2013,  Malta  (2.9),  with  a 
decreasing  trend  since  2010  and  Belgium  (2.8),  for  which  it  remains  stable  since 
2005.  
Nutrient balance15  

Nutrient  balance  is  defined  as  the  difference  between  the  nutrient  inputs  entering  a 
farming  system  (mainly  fertilizers)  and  the  nutrient  outputs  leaving  the  system 
(mainly crops and fodder). A nutrient surplus occurs when the plants do not take up 
all the nutrients and represents a potential loss to the environment, while a negative 
balance  indicates  that  the  soil  is  mined,  with  a  risk  of  soil  fertility  loss.  Eurostat 
promoted the use of a common methodology16 to calculate nutrient balances, but it is 

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Directive  2008/56/EC  establishing  a  framework  for  community  action  in  the  field  of  marine 
environmental policy 
EEA Report No 17/2019, Marine messages II 
Tables 1 to 9 and maps 1 to 5 in the SWD 
Westhoek H., Lesschen J.P., Leip A., Rood T., Wagner S., De Marco A., Murphy-Bokern D., Pallière 
C.,  Howard  C.M.,  Oenema  O.  &  Sutton  M.A.  (2015)  Nitrogen  on  the  Table:  The  influence  of  food 
choices on nitrogen emissions and the European environment. (European Nitrogen Assessment Special 
Report on Nitrogen and Food.) Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK. 
Tables 10 to 17 in the SWD 
Methodology and Handbook Eurostat/OECD  Nutrient Budgets (2013)  

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not  used  by  all  Member  States,  which  impedes  comparison.  Some  Member  States 
also do not report nutrient balances to Eurostat17. 

For  EU27+UK,  between  the  reporting  periods  2008-2011  and  2012-2015,  both  net 
nitrogen and phosphate balance slightly increased at EU-28 level from 31.8 to 32.5 
kg N/ha and from 1.8 to 2.0 kg P/ha respectively. For the 2016-2019 period, the N 
balances  are  higher  than  100kg/ha  for  Belgium,  Cyprus,  Luxembourg  and  the 
Netherlands.  Phosphate  balances  are  higher  than  20kg/ha  for  Cyprus,  Ireland,  and 
Malta. Since 2008, for those Member States showing high nutrient surplus, the only 
decrease was observed in Malta regarding the phosphate balance. 
N-discharge into the environment from agriculture18 

Regrettably,  the  information  about  the  contribution  of  agriculture  to  nitrogen 
discharge in the aquatic environment has not been provided by 13 Member States19. 
Based on the data of those who did, agriculture is responsible from 22 % to 99% of 
the  total  load  of  nitrogen  into  the  environment,  on  average  77  %,  so  it  is  the  most 
prominent  source.  Compared  to  the  previous  period,  we  see  an  uneven  picture:  for 
the 14 Member States that reported data for the two last reporting periods, the part of 
the nitrogen discharge attributed to agriculture decreased for six Member States and 
increased for eight Member States. 

3. 

FINDING WHERE POLLUTION IS 

Flagship achievement 1 – Viewer for a better access to nitrates report data 
The Commission Joint Research Centre developed an  online viewer allowing the access to 
reporting data under the Nitrates Directive. Regional and even individual station records are 
accessible for water quality, and agricultural data are also provided. 

Monitoring20 

The  Nitrates  Directive  requires  Member  States  to  draw  up  and  implement  suitable 
monitoring programmes to assess the effectiveness of the action programmes. It sets 
basic principles and criteria for water monitoring, but aspects such as the monitoring 
network  density,  stability  and  frequency  of  sampling  remain  the  responsibility  of 
Member States. 

For the first time, Member States were requested to report on each of the monitoring 
stations  that  were  removed  from  their  monitoring  network,  the  reason  for  such 
removals  and  the  alternative  stations  put  in  place  in  case  pollution  was  persistent.  
Over  the  two  last  reporting  periods,  trends  could  be  calculated  for  83%  of  for 
groundwater stations (yet only 20% in Sweden), and 75% for surface water stations 
(yet less than 50% for Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia and Sweden). 

For saline waters, it is welcomed that the strong decrease of 29% on the total number 
of monitoring stations observed between 2008 and 2015 was partially corrected with 
additional  stations.  However,  regrettably,  the  number  of  saline  water  monitoring 
stations remains relatively low in certain Member States21. The monitoring of saline 

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BE, CY, DK, EE, EL, LT, LU, MT 
Table 18  in the SWD 
AT, BG, DK, EE, EL, FR, HR, IT, LT, LU, MT, RO 
Tables 19 to 23 and figures 1 to 5 in the SWD 
FR, HR  

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water is very important to ascertain the pollution in marine waters and the effects on 
sea biodiversity. 
Groundwater22 

In 2016–2019, 14.1% of groundwater stations still exceeded in annual average 50 mg 
nitrates  per  litre,  a  situation  comparable  to  the  previous  reporting  period,  in  which 
13.2% stations exceeded 50 mg/l. 

Figure 1: percentage of groundwater station exceeding 50mg nitrates per litre. 

Figure 2: Annual average nitrate concentrations in groundwater at the NUTS2 level for the reporting 
period 2016-2019 

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Tables 24 to 27, figures 6 to 9 and maps 6 to 17 of the SWD 

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Surface water23  

Nitrates  and  phosphorus  in  surface  waters  can  lead  to  eutrophication,  i.e.,  oxygen 
depletion  due  to  algal  blooms  which  impacts  fresh  and  marine  water  ecosystems. 
Eutrophication,  whether  induced  by  nitrates  or  also  phosphorus,  triggers  the 
obligation  for  Member  States  to  take  remedial  action  for  these  waters  under  the 
Directive24. 

For the assessment of the trophic status, the Commission has recommended to follow 
the  classification  of  the  Guidance  document  on  eutrophication  used  for  the  WFD 
implementation25,  which  was  the  case  for  a  majority  of  Member  States.  However, 
parameters used for this assessment varied widely among Member States. 

At EU level, 36% of rivers and 32% of lakes, 31% of coastal and 32% of transitional 
water and 81% of marine waters were reported as eutrophic. On the other hand, for 
fresh surface waters, unfortunately, no trends are available at EU level for the trophic 
status either, because of the lack of data and the differences in the methodologies to 
define trophic status applied by Member States. 

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Tables 28 to 44, figures 10 to 20 and maps 18 to 43 of the SWD 
The European Court of Justice Court ruled (case C-258/00) that excluding certain categories of waters 
owing  to  the  supposedly  fundamental  role  of  phosphorus  in  the  pollution  of  those  waters  is 
incompatible with both the logic and the objective of the Directive. 
Guidance document on eutrophication assessment in the context of European water policies. Guidance 
document No 23  

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Eutrophic 
Could become eutrophic 
Non eutrophic 

Figure 3: Frequency diagram of the trophic status of rivers (a), lakes (b), transitional waters (c), 
coastal waters (d) and marine waters (e) in reporting period 2016-2019. 

Figure 4: Percentage of surface waters stations (all categories) in eutrophic status at the NUTS2 level, 
for the reporting period 2016-2019 

Flagship achievement 2: Our Baltic conference 
Taking into account the very acute eutrophication problem which affects 97% of the Baltic 
Sea, on 28 September 2020, on the occasion of “Our Baltic Conference” under the auspices 
of  Commissioner  Sinkevičius,  Ministers  of  Agriculture,  Fisheries  and  Environment  of  the 
Baltic  Sea  Member  States committed  together  in  a  Common  Political  Declaration  to  boost 
efforts  to  bring  the  Baltic  Sea  to  achieve  a  good  environmental  status  by  reducing  key 
pressures, and especially nutrients pressure.  

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This  Declaration  refers  to  the  Nitrates  Directive  as  a  key  tool  to  achieve  this  good 
environmental status. It calls on Member States to revise the designation of the NVZ where 
appropriate. It also calls for the revision of the measures in the action programmes. 

4. 

DESIGNATING THE POLLUTED AREAS26 

Member States have to find the polluted areas and designate them as NVZs to apply 
compulsory measures therein. They may, instead of designating NVZs, opt to apply 
their action programme throughout their entire territory. Austria, Denmark, Finland, 
the  Netherlands,  Poland, 
Germany,  Ireland,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Malta, 
Romania, Slovenia and Belgium (limited to  Flanders) have followed this approach. 
In the UK, this was also the case for Northern Ireland. 

Some  Member  States  also  define  additional  types  of  zones  (e.g.  “hotspots”  or  “red 
areas”)  with  reinforced  measures  because  of  a  local  higher  level  of  pollution  or 
because of the proximity to  drinking  water abstraction points. This  can be the case 
for both Member States designating NVZs or adopting the whole-territory approach. 

Between  2012-2015  and  2016-2019  the  total  area  of  NVZ  (including  the  Member 
States that apply a whole-territory approach) has increased by 14,4%.  

However, the water quality data reported by Member States show that there are areas 
with  water  pollution  or  potential  pollution  that  are  not  included  in  NVZ.  Bulgaria, 
Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, Latvia and Portugal have a very high number of hotspots that 
are not included in the NVZ. 

In  some  Member  States,  such  as  Bulgaria,  Spain,  Hungary,  Italy  and  Slovakia,  the 
NVZ are sometimes very limited areas that do not take into account the whole water 
catchment area, resulting in a very fragmented designation and a reduced efficiency 
of action programmes. 

Despite what is prescribed by the law, it has been observed that eutrophication is not 
sufficiently taken into account when identifying and designating polluted areas. The 
Commission  expect  that  all  Member  States  urgently  address  this  shortcoming,  in 
order to ensure an appropriate and effective designation of NVZ. 

5. 

WHAT MEMBER STATES DO ABOUT IT  

Action  programmes  apply  within  NVZ  or  to  the  whole  territory.  They  have  to  be 
updated  at  least  once  every  4  years.  Several  Member  States  have  adopted  action 
programmes also at regional level.  

Measures  in  the  action  programmes  should  ensure  balanced  fertilisation,  i.e.  that 
fertilisers,  and  especially  nitrogen  fertilisers,  are  used  with  the  highest  efficiency, 
minimising  nitrates  losses  in  the  environment,  thus  reducing  and  preventing 
pollution. More and more Member States (17 for this reporting period) also include 
measures  related  to  phosphorus  fertilisation,  which  is  necessary  when  phosphorus 
losses lead to eutrophication of waters. 

Scientific  and  technical  recommendations  for  establishing  action  programmes  are 
available for Member States since 2012 for each of the type of measure27. 

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Tables 45 and 46 and maps 44 and 45 of the SWD 
Recommendations  for  establishing  Action  Programmes  under  Directive  91/676/EEC  concerning  the 
protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (2012) 

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Most Member States adopted new or revised action programmes during the reporting 
period 2016-2019. Updates are still needed for Belgium (Wallonia), Cyprus, Finland, 
and Romania. 

Flagship achievement 3 - Nitrate Action Programme Information system (NAPINFO) 
The Commission made available to the public a unique compilation of all the approaches and 
the  measures  by  all  Member  States  in  action  programmes  under  Directive  91/676/EEC28. 
This  very  comprehensive  database,  prepared  in  collaboration  with  Member  States,  also 
includes an analysis of the potential of these measures to tackle nutrient pollution29. 

The  analysis  in  the  NAPINFO  report  reveals  that  there  is  significant  variability 
between  action  programmes  with  respect  to  the  measures  implemented  and  to  the 
level of ambition of these measures. There is scope for Member States to learn from 
each  other,  especially  where  regional  circumstances  are  similar  (climate,  soil).  The 
exchange of best practices allowed by this database should be used to optimise action 
programmes. 

20 Member States reported forecast on water quality, 9 predicted a further reduction 
in nitrate concentrations in groundwater and surface waters, 6 a negative trend, and 5 
a  status  quo.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  Directive  requires  that  Member  State  take 
preventive  action  when  the  quality  of  water  stagnates  and  does  not  improve.  The 
Commission invites all Member States to use and report forecast on water quality, in 
order to duly prevent any risk of further water pollution. 

Members  States  often  note  that  the  effects  of  climate  change  make  it  difficult  to 
predict  the  future  quality  of  surface  waters  and  groundwater.  The  unexpected  dry 
conditions across Europe in 2018, 2019 led to reduced crop yields but also increased 
nutrient  pollution.  Climate  change  also  leads  to  periods  with  strongly  increased 
rainfall that can lead to accumulation of water-saturated lands, flooding and high risk 
of nutrients losses. 

Current action programmes may not adequately address these risks yet and may not 
be  efficient  to  limit  nutrient  losses  during  and  after  droughts  or  flooding.  The 
Commission insists that Member States should take these projections and risks into 
account  in  the  revision  of  the  action  programmes,  by  applying  the  precautionary 
principle. 

6. 

 LIMITING THE USE OF MANURE IN POLLUTED AREAS  

One of the most important provisions of the Directive is that in areas in which action 
programmes  apply,  farmers  may  not  spread  more  than  170  kg  nitrogen  per  hectare 
per  year  derived  from  manure  in  their  fields.  This  limit  applies  all  over  the  EU, 
wherever water is already polluted or risks being polluted, irrespective of the climatic 
and soil conditions and the crops grown.  

However,  growing  conditions  in  the  colder  northern  regions  might  be  different 
compared to the mild western Atlantic regions or to the hot and dry conditions in the 
Mediterranean.  For  this  reason,  the  Nitrates  Directive  foresees  the  possibility  to 
apply a higher amount of nitrogen per hectare per year. It is of outmost importance to 
highlight that these derogations can only be given provided that these amounts do not 
hamper  the  achievement  of  the  Directive's  objectives  in  terms  of  water  quality.  To 
deviate  form  170  kg/ha  ceiling,  the  Member  State  must  request  a  derogation  and 

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https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-nitrates/studies.html  
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/wikis/spaces/viewspace.action?key=NAPINFO 

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prove with scientific evidence that for defined crops, in the local conditions the use 
of higher amounts will not hamper in any way water quality. 

This possibility to use higher amount of manure is granted by Commission Decisions 
that identify the types of farms and set stricter agro environmental conditions. These 
Decisions  are  adopted  following  a  favourable  opinion  of  the  Member  States  in  the 
Nitrates  Committee30,  which  assists  the  Commission  in  the  implementation  of  the 
Directive.  

During  the  reporting  period,  derogations  were  granted  to  the  following  Member 
States:  Belgium,  with  regard  to  region  of  Flanders,  Denmark,  Ireland,  Italy,  with 
regard to the regions of Lombardia and Piemonte (expired in December 2019 and not 
renewed) and the Netherlands. As regards the UK, a decision with regard England, 
Scotland  and  Wales  expired  in  December  2016,  and  a  new  one  was  granted  as 
regards Northern Ireland (valid for the whole reporting period).  

7. 

WHAT THE COMMISSION IS DOING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE  

The  Commission  is  in  constant  dialogue  with  Member  States  to  ensure  full 
compliance  with  the  Directive.  This  dialogue  focuses  on  the  content  of  the  action 
programmes, the need for additional measures, for new or revised NVZ designations 
and for reinforced water quality monitoring. In doing so, the Commission considers 
also  the  requirements  in  terms  of  water  quality  under  the  WFD  and  the  MSFD,  as 
well as the risks of ammonia emissions from fertilisers, regulated under the National 
Emission reduction Commitments Directive31. 

During  the  reporting  period,  10  infringement  cases  were  ongoing  against  Member 
States:  

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Belgium:  Wallonia  on  the  nitrate  action  programme,  Flanders  on  derogation 
conditions 

Bulgaria (closed in 2018); 

Estonia (closed in 2017); 

France on NVZ designation (closed in 2019); 

Germany on the action programme; 

Greece on NVZ designation and the action programmes (closed in 2020); 

Italy  on  the  stability  of  the  monitoring  network,  NVZ  designation  and  action 
programmes; 

Poland on NVZ designation and the action programmes (closed in 2018); 

Slovakia on water quality monitoring and the nitrate action programme (closed 
in 2019); and 

Spain  on  the  stability  of  the  monitoring  network,  NVZ  and  the  nitrate  action 
programmes. 

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https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/comitology-register/screen/committees/C11400/consult?lang=en  
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants 

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8. 

CONTRIBUTION OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY 

The  latest  reform  of  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  provides  for  tools  to  address 
nutrient pollution. 

The  new  enhanced  conditionality  sets  the  obligations  for  more  ambitious  and 
sustainable agricultural commitments through ‘Good Agricultural and Environmental 
Conditions (GAECs)’32 and Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs), the latter 
including the compliance with the Nitrates Directive and the WFD. 

In  addition,  the  new  ecoschemes  will  benefit  from  financial  support  to  reward 
farmers  adopting  good  environmental  and  climate  practices  beyond  the  mandatory 
baseline of conditionality enabling to meet the Green Deal’s ambitions. 

In  its  recommendations  for  CAP  Strategic  Plans,  the  Commission  requested  action 
tackling nutrient pollution for 26 Member States. 

The farm advisory services will inform farmers about innovation, research, practices 
to  ensure  among  others  environmentally-friendly  farming, 
and 
including the reduction of nutrient losses. 

technologies 

9. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  Nitrates  Directive  has  cut  off  nutrient 
losses  from  agriculture  over  the  last  30  years.  Evidence  allows  to  conclude  that 
without the Directive the levels of water pollution in the EU would be significantly 
higher. 

The  data  on  nitrates  concentration  at  EU  level  show  that  groundwater  quality  has 
improved since the adoption of the Directive, however the further improvement goes 
very slow since 2012.  This can be interpreted as the low hanging fruits having been 
already collected and now more far reaching measures being needed to improve the 
positive  trend.  A  high  percentage  of  groundwater  monitoring  stations  still  show 
levels that are above the maximum 50 mg nitrate/l in Malta, Germany, Luxemburg, 
Spain, Portugal and Belgium (Flanders region). 

from  Member  States  has 

Water  quality  monitoring 
regarding 
eutrophication  assessment  as  well  as  concerning  saline  water.  Eutrophication  is  a 
major  problem  for  all  types  of  surface  waters,  as  inland,  transitional,  coastal  and 
marine water are still severely affected. A number of Member States that stand out 
by their large number of waters that are eutrophic are the Czech Republic, Finland, 
Denmark, Luxemburg, Belgium, Germany, Latvia and Poland. 

improved 

In  spite  of  considerable  efforts  from  most  Member  States  and  farmers,  which 
respectively designed and applied measures mitigating nitrates losses in  waters,  the 
water quality data show that the level of implementation and enforcement are still not 
sufficient to reach the objectives of the Directive, 30 years after its adoption and in 
spite of some progress: 

– 

Some Member States record bad water quality all around their territory and a 
systemic  problem  to  manage  nutrient  losses  from  agriculture:  Belgium 
(Flanders  region),  Czech  Republic,  Denmark,  Germany,  Finland,  Hungary, 
Latvia, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. 

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In particular  GAEC 4 – Establishment of buffer strips along watercourses.  

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10. 

– 

Some  Member  States  have  hot  spots  where  pollution  is  not  sufficiently 
addressed: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Italy, Portugal and Romania. 

Some  Member  States  need  therefore  to  take  urgently  extra  steps  to  achieve  the 
objectives  of  the  Nitrates  Directive,  in  particular  Belgium,  the  Czech  Republic, 
Luxemburg,  Spain,  the  Netherlands  and  Germany,  which  are  the  farthermost  away 
from these objectives.  

More  specific  conclusions  and  recommendations  for  each  Member  States  are 
provided in the country fiches. 

While  there  is  no  deadline  to  reach  the  water  quality  objectives  of  the  Nitrates 
Directive,  the  WFD  objectives  of  good  ecological  and  chemical  status  should  be 
reached  by  2027  at  the  latest,  and  the  observed  water  quality  trends  show  that  this 
will not be achieved without drastic changes to the measures in place. 

The Commission will reinforce its actions to improve the Directive implementation 
and  enforcement  to  match  its  objectives.  This  is  a  prerequisite  for  reaching  a 
reduction of nutrient losses by 50% by 2030 set in the context of the EU Green Deal. 

THE WAY FORWARD 
The Commission will develop an  Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan33 in 
2022, building on the Zero Pollution Action Plan34. This will help the coordination of 
efforts and will aim at addressing nutrient pollution at source, identifying the nutrient 
load  reductions  needed  to  achieve  the  EU  Green  Deal  targets  on  nutrients, 
stimulating the markets  for safe and sustainable  recovered nutrients,  and  increasing 
the sustainability of the livestock sector. 

Considerable  progress  has  been  made  regarding  the  development  of  manure 
processing  technologies.  Recovered  nitrogen  that  replaces  inorganic  fertilisers 
reduces  CO2  emissions,  while  recuperated  phosphates  reduce  dependency  of 
imported phosphate rock and remaining organic fractions can be used on local fields. 
However  the  most  advanced  technologies  are  not  yet  widely  used  and  there  are  a 
number of economic barriers due to the high costs of these processes, the transport 
costs and the frequent need to pay the farmers for the application of these products 
on their fields. Furthermore, the maximum level of nitrogen from manure that can be 
applied under the Nitrates Directive includes also manure in a processed form. 
The new  Fertilising Product  Regulation35 will extend in July 2022 the scope of the 
current Regulation on fertilisers36 from purely inorganic fertilisers to organo-mineral 
and organic fertilisers, paving the way for the marketing of these processed organic 
fertilisers in the EU internal market. 

33 
34 
35 

36 

Biodiversity  and the Farm to Fork  strategies 
Reference to the Communication to be added 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilising 
products, OJ L 170, 25.6.2019, p. 1 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2003/2003  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  October  2003 
relating to fertilisers 

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Flagship achievement 4 - ‘REcovered Nitrogen from manURE’: RENURE 
The Circular Economy Action Plan37 promotes the recycling of nutrients from manure and 
other  organic  sources  to  replace  chemical  fertilisers,  whose  production  is  associated  to 
drawbacks of resource management for P38 or environmental impact for N39. 
While  on  one  side  they  increase  organic  carbon  in  the  soil  and  the  soil  fertility,  organic 
fertilisers  on  the  other  side  can  release  more  nutrients  in  the  environment  compared  with 
inorganic fertilisers, thus posing higher risks of water and air pollution. The main challenge 
is therefore to obtain recycled nutrients that minimise losses in the environment. 
The  Commission  Joint  Research  Centre  completed  a  study40  on  recovered  nitrogen  from 
manure and proposed criteria for its safe use above the threshold established by the Nitrates 
Directive  in  a  similar  way  as  a  non  organic  fertilizer.  The  concerned  materials  are  called 
RENURE,  from  ‘REcovered  Nitrogen  from  manURE’.  The  Commission  is  currently 
considering  the  options  for  the  implementation  of  this  criterion  within  the  current  legal 
framework. 

Funding can be made available by the CAP, State Aid and Interreg41 but also through 
the  elements  of  the  green  transition  under  the  National  Recovery  and  Resilience 
Plans, explaining how they contribute to reaching the environmental goals set at EU 
level42. 
The  EU  research  and  innovation  programme  Horizon  202043  has  invested  in 
numerous projects44 tackling nutrients management that are currently delivering and 
deploying their results and innovations. The Horizon Europe programme45 will also 
provide  financial  support  for  research  and  innovation  in  the  area  of  integrated 
approaches for nutrient management and recovery, as well water protection. 

Even if new initiatives to address nutrient pollution are being considered and funding 
is available, the first necessary actions to address and prevent nutrient pollution from 
agriculture  needs  to  be  undertaken  through  a  higher  level  of  compliance  with  the 
Nitrates Directive. This is in line with the EU Treaty principles that preventive action 
should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source 
and that the polluter should pay46. 

37 

38 
39 

40 

41 
42 

43 
44 
45 

46 

Communication from the Commission - A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more 
competitive Europe COM/2020/98 final 
Phosphorus is included in the list of EU Critical Raw Materials. 
The Haber–Bosch process used of N mineral fertiliser production is currently one of the largest global 
energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, responsible for 1.2% of the global anthropogenic CO2 
emissions 
Study on Technical proposals for the safe use of processed manure above the threshold established for 
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones by the Directive, JRC (2020) 
https://www.interregeurope.eu/  
https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-
facility_en  
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020  
https://cordis.europa.eu/  
https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en  
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 191 

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