The NEC directive has set targets for the 2010 ammonia emissions from a number of European countries. The target will be reached by most EU-countries and the total emission for EU-27 has been reduced by 22% from 1990 to 2007. Denmark is one of the countries with the largest reductions since 1990 and the article looks at the measures and costs involved. The conclusion is that the costs have been under 3 €/kg NH3-N. The findings suggest that the same measures might be cheaper in the Netherlands and Denmark than in the UK and the USA due to technology advances and stricter regulations in the past. The new Danish application procedure, when increasing the animal production, has tried to make the acceptance procedure quicker and dynamic ensuring that new technology is adopted quicker and that the farm is located in the right place. It is concluded that the new application process so far has not lived up to the high expectations at the outset. Despite this, the paper concludes that Denmark is likely to reduce emission by 50% from 1990 to 2020 and reach the likely 2020 NEC ceiling.