Overview
- René Paas, Groningen’s King’s Commissioner, said Sunday he will report Farmers Defence Force to police for intimidation after the group warned of “war” if a 24-hour ultimatum was not met.
- FDF’s threat targeted BBB members in the provincial council who voted Wednesday to start taking a farm by force, a move the group says violates BBB’s national stance against expropriation.
- FDF leader Mark van den Oever later called the “war” wording figurative and said the group is not worried about the complaint, describing plans to issue statements and a video.
- The vote cleared the way to expropriate 31 hectares from the Van der Veen family for a water storage and nature offset project near Lucaswolde, with 30 votes in favor and 8 against, including six of twelve BBB members voting yes.
- The province says it has worked on the project since 2014 and already owns about 93% of the needed land, while the family rejects the taking as unfair and warns it could set a precedent for other farmers under Dutch expropriation law.