There are currently four pieces of legislation that are relevant to EU nitrate levels
In addition, the EU will soon present its Livestock Strategy, as part of a broader Vision for Agriculture and Food. One goal is to build a strategy that fits the already existing pieces of legislation relevant to animal farming, including those related to nitrate levels.
The Nitrates Directive was designed specifically to target nitrates pollution from agriculture. The directive requires Member States to identify all waters that are polluted or at risk of pollution. These include groundwater bodies with nitrate concentrations exceeding, or at risk of exceeding, 50 mg NO3/L, as well as surface waters that are eutrophic or at-risk of eutrophication. The land areas draining into these affected water bodies are then designated as “Nitrate Vulnerable Zones”.
In these zones, Member States must adopt “action programmes” controlling fertiliser and manure use. A core rule has been that livestock manure application must not exceed 170 kg nitrogen per hectare per year, unless a derogation is granted, which then allows application up to 250 kg N/ha/year.
As the Netherlands’ derogation was phased out last year, Ireland is now the only country with a derogation. However, other parts of the Nitrates Directive have being compromised.
The Water Framework Directive provides the wider framework to achieve good status of surface and groundwater bodies. It counts nitrate pollution relevant to both chemical and ecological status, and sets a deadline of 2027 to reach this aim.
The Drinking Water Directive and Groundwater Directive set a 50 mg NO3/L nitrate standard for drinking water and groundwater respectively – following the World Health Organisation guidance, and health concerns.
Beyond nitrates pollution and water, there are other pieces of legislation attempting to regulate industrial animal production. We describe those in this briefing.
Next to the existing legal frameworks, the European Commission built a strategy to fit the different pieces of legislation mentioned above, and others more broadly related to animal farming.
In February 2025, the European Commission presented its Vision for Agriculture and Food, guided by dialogue with farmers, food businesses and other stakeholders across the value chain.
In May 2025, they launched the Livestock Workstream – a series of debates attended mainly by representatives of the livestock sector – to develop policy pathways to support the sector in becoming more *crisis-resilient, globally competitive and fully sustainable and to reflect European territorial diversity*. In addition, the Commission also gathered around 900 contributions in a call to evidence.
On 7 July the European Commission presented its Livestock Strategy. When mounting challenges in agriculture demand a transition towards a more resilient, small-scale farming that cares both for people and nature, the strategy instead prioritises further industrialisation combined with greenwashed promises, promoting the permission of genetically-modified animals, the expansion of biogas and biomethane projects, RENURE and many more.
The Commission also labeled livestock as a ‘key strategic sector for the Union competitiveness and open strategic autonomy’, hoping to make it easier for industrial-scale projects to get derogations from EU environmental laws such as the Nitrates Directive, Water Framework Directive, Industrial Emissions Directive and Habitats Directive. This approach risks fast-tracking permitting and weakening compliance with legislation meant to protect the climate, the environment and (drinking) water from pollution, while harming small-scale farmers, local communities and nature.
Despite the ever growing damage caused by industrial animal production – including water pollution, poor animal welfare, and devastating impacts of industrial food production dominating rural communities – the Commission also downplays the drivers of factory farming, and the sector’s major health, social and environmental impacts.
Here is what different CSOs instead say the Strategy needs to deliver:
