On 19 October 2026 the Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment launched a public consultation on a draft targeted amendment to the Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC). It would give Member States more flexibility to let farmers use certain liquid digestates derived from livestock manure. Digestates are what is left after manure and other organic material go through anaerobic digestion for biogas or biomethane.

What would change

  • The Nitrates Directive caps application of livestock manure, including processed manure, at 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year.
  • RENURE (REcovered Nitrogen from manURE) rules, introduced in March 2026, let Member States exempt certain nitrogen materials recovered from manure because they behave like chemical fertilisers. The exemption comes with strict quality criteria and environmental safeguards.
  • That option currently covers only three materials: ammonium salts, mineral concentrates and struvite.
  • The draft would extend it to certain liquid digestate fractions with high mineral-nitrogen and low organic-material content that can also meet the RENURE criteria.
By using nutrients already in livestock manure, the Commission says, the proposal “could reduce dependence on imported, energy-intensive synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and lead to lower input costs for farmers.”

Why now

The Commission ties the draft to its Fertiliser Action Plan (May 2026) and Livestock Strategy (July 2026). The action plan aims for “on-the-ground solutions” by the spring 2027 growing season. A Joint Research Centre release on 16 October says EU nitrogen fertiliser prices rose by a further 40% between December 2025 and April 2026, on top of costs already 62% above 2020. It also says the Gulf region supplies 43% of global urea exports and 27% of ammonia exports.

What happens next

  1. One-month public feedback period on the draft act.
  2. Endorsement by a qualified majority of Member States in the Nitrates Committee.
  3. A three-month scrutiny period for the European Parliament and Council.
  4. Formal adoption by the Commission.
Citizen impact: For livestock farmers, especially in dense manure regions, the change could turn a disposal problem into a fertiliser substitute and cut chemical-nitrogen bills. Only Member States that choose to use the option would apply it, and only for digestates that meet RENURE quality limits. Who gains: livestock and arable farmers near biogas plants, and the biogas sector. Who carries the risk: water quality, since the JRC flags ammonia emissions and nitrate leaching as risks that must be managed. Nothing changes on farms until the Commission adopts the act, after committee approval and three months of scrutiny.

What this piece refuses

Do not write that the EU has “scrapped” or “raised” the 170 kg N/ha manure cap. The cap stays. The draft extends an optional, criteria-bound exemption to more material types. Do not quote a new per-hectare ceiling for digestates. The Commission’s announcement does not set one. Do not write that the rule applies in the Netherlands, Denmark or any other country until that government uses the option.

Bottom line

Verified as of 19 October 2026 from DG Environment’s announcement and the JRC’s 16 October release: the Commission has opened feedback on extending RENURE to certain manure-based liquid digestates. Committee approval and three months of Parliament and Council scrutiny come before adoption, with spring 2027 as the stated target. Watch the Have Your Say feedback count and the Nitrates Committee vote.