The EU Commission proposes flexibility regarding the use of liquid digestate as an alternative to fertilisers

Brussels – The European Commission has presented on Friday (16 October) a draft proposal aimed at reducing costs for farmers and decreasing the sector’s reliance on imported chemical fertilisers, with the aim of making European farmers less vulnerable to price shocks resulting from geopolitical instability and increasing the sector’s self-sufficiency. As announced in the EU Fertiliser Action Plan and in the Livestock Sector Strategy, this is a proposal for a targeted amendment to the Nitrates Directive, which aims to give Member States greater flexibility to allow farmers to use certain liquid digestates (a type of fertiliser) derived from livestock manure, while ensuring environmental protection, as an alternative to chemical fertilisers. 

The proposal is backed by a new report from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) at the Berlaymont Building, which assesses the potential for the safe use of agricultural digestate as fertiliser. Citizens and stakeholders – including farmers, civil society, public authorities, and researchers – are invited to submit their views on the Commission’s draft targeted amendment by 13 November 2026. After analysing the feedback received, the Commission will forward the proposal to the Member States within the Nitrates Committee, an EU advisory body established by the Nitrates Directive to protect water from pollution caused by nitrates of agricultural origin. Should the Committee deliver a favourable opinion, the proposal will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council, which will have three months to raise any objections. The Nitrates Directive is a European Union measure of 12 December 1991, the main purpose of which is to protect surface water and groundwater from pollution caused by nitrates used in agriculture (mainly from chemical fertilisers and livestock effluents such as liquid manure).