CALL FOR EVIDENCE

FOR AN EVALUATION

This document aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the Commission's work, so they can provide feedback and participate effectively in consultation activities.

We ask these groups to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.

Title of the evaluation

Protecting waters from pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources – Evaluation

Lead DG – responsible unit

DG ENV UNIT D.1 (Land Use & Management)

Indicative timetable

(planned start date and completion date)

2024

Additional information

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-nitrates/index_en.html

This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, purpose and scope of the evaluation

Political context

The Nitrates Directive 1 , adopted in 1991, aims to protect water quality across Europe by reducing and preventing pollution by nitrates from agriculture. The evaluation should assess if the Nitrates Directive remains fit for purpose, if it is in line with the EU environmental and climate ambitions and contributes to a sustainable and resilient agriculture and food security.

The evaluation will look at whether, in changing climatic and environmental conditions, the Directive is helping farmers to adapt and increase resilience, whether it is supportive of new agricultural practices, while sufficiently promoting the recycling of nutrients from various sources, including processed manure.

The evaluation will also assess how the Directive can contribute to the commitments taken in the Conference of the Parties 15 (COP 15) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to reduce nutrient losses by 50% by 2030.

A key objective will also be to investigate the potential for simplification, burden and cost reductions with a focus on increased coherence with other legislation and developments in farm practices and technology.

Purpose and scope

The evaluation will assess how EU countries have applied the Nitrates Directive since it was adopted in 1991.

The assessment of effectiveness will investigate to what extent the objectives of the Directive are being achieved and to what extent it can continue to contribute to reducing and preventing nutrient pollution from agriculture. It will consider how the Directive has been implemented, challenges that have arisen in applying the Directive, and any factors limiting its effectiveness.

Efficiency will be considered by assessing whether the efforts and the costs needed to implement the Directive are proportionate, and whether environmental and socio-economic benefits outweigh these costs. The potential for simplification, including on reporting and reducing the associated costs, will also be investigated.

In terms of relevance, the evaluation will assess the extent to which the objectives pursued by the Directive correspond to current societal needs, including the Union’s environmental and climate objectives, an integrated approach to nutrients, a sustainable and resilient agriculture, and food security.

The assessment of coherence will focus on the internal consistency of the Directive as well as its consistency with related EU legislation and policies on water, nature, agriculture, circular economy, and others.

The evaluation of the Directive’s ‘EU added value’ will look at the extent to which an EU-level approach has improved what could have been achieved by the Member States acting alone at national level.

B. Better regulation

Consultation strategy

Stakeholders will be consulted in various formats, to gather views on the aspects detailed above in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value.

The main consultation activities will include:

·feedback on this call for evidence,

·an online public consultation of 12 weeks on the Commission's ‘Have your say’ website in all EU official languages,

·consultation of Member State authorities through the Nitrates Committee and Nitrates Expert Group, and

·targeted consultation activities with stakeholders and experts.

A factual summary of the feedback gathered through the online consultation will be published on the consultation page. The output of all consultation activities will be integrated in the assessment and summarised in an annex to the evaluation report.

Why we are consulting? 

The aim of this consultation is to ensure that the public’s interests across the EU are properly reflected in the evaluation of the Nitrates Directive, by gathering stakeholders’ and citizens views and by collecting feedback, ideas, information and opinions, including scientific and technical studies.

Target audience

The target audience includes all stakeholders and citizens affected by nutrient losses from agriculture as well as those implementing the Nitrates Directive across the EU. Relevant stakeholders include:

·National, regional and local authorities (e.g. agricultural, water, environmental, climate, spatial planning, health and economic authorities);

·Farmers, businesses and professionals operating in relevant sectors (e.g. agriculture, environment, water, climate, health, food, tourism, fisheries, etc.) and their respective sectoral associations;

·European, international and multilateral organisations as well as relevant EU agencies, regional sea conventions, etc.;

·Employers, trade unions, consumer organisations, environmental NGOs and other civil society bodies, academia and research institutes working on EU agriculture and environment policies and the general public.

Data collection and methodology

The evaluation will build on a large amount of existing data as well as data to be collected through the different stakeholder consultation activities. Key sources of information include:

·The Commissions’ 4-yearly nitrates reports, which provide a regular assessment and an evolution of agricultural pressure and water quality in all EU countries.

·Decisions by the EU Court of Justice on the Nitrates Directive. 

·Reports by the European Court of Auditors relevant to the topic.

·National measures implementing the Nitrates Directive (nitrate vulnerable zones and nitrates action programmes).

·Studies and guidelines developed by the Commission, Member States and academia.

·Results of research and innovation projects (including EU-funded projects under Horizon Europe and other programmes).

·The 2012 "Fitness check on EU freshwater policy" , implementation reports, impact assessments and evaluations from relevant EU legislation , as well as monitoring reports from the European Environment Agency, the EU’s Joint Research Centre and the Zero pollution monitoring and outlook framework.