Baltic farmers' protest tractor to begin journey to Brussels in Tallinn on Monday

On Monday, November 12 at 12:00, an event organized by an Estonian farmer organization in Tallinn’s Freedom Square will kick off the Baltic farmers’ protest action – a Soviet-era tractor symbolizing the unequal situation of agriculture in the Baltic States in the common European Union market. It is planned that the tractor, having stopped at several Baltic cities, will reach Brussels on November 22, where the EU summit on the EU’s multiannual budget for 2014-2020 will take place. The protest action is being organized by the Latvian Agricultural Cooperatives Association (LLKA) in cooperation with Estonian and Lithuanian organizations.

The idea for the campaign was conceived by the farmers of the association "Farmers' Council", who have been cherishing the idea since the beginning of this year, so they are pleased that the idea has come true at this important moment. Deputy Chairman of the Farmers' Council Maira Dzelzkalēja: "At the moment, there is still a little anxiety, as before every ambitious event, especially if several countries are involved. The preparation process has been quite complicated, but we have managed to overcome obstacles and achieve successful cooperation between the Baltic states. It is essential that the campaign also has the support of the farmers themselves, which is why we are organizing these events in Riga, Valmiera and a short stop in Bauska, where we invite every resident to come and support the Baltic farmers with their presence."

After the event in Tallinn, the tractor will travel to events in Rapla and Tõri on November 12, while the next day, November 13, the tractor will be welcomed in Tartu, Viru and Valga. The first tractor stop event in Latvia will take place on Wednesday, November 14 at 2:00 PM in Valmiera, on the square near the Valmiera City Council building.Farmers from Vidzeme are invited to participate in the event to once again demonstrate with their presence how important the issue of fair EU direct payments is for Latvian agriculture. On Thursday, November 15th at 2:00 PM, the Baltic Farmers Tractor Stop event will take place in Riga, Dome Square. Farmers from the surrounding regions, especially Zemgale and Kurzeme, are also invited to participate here. It is planned that the tractors will be met at the city borders in both Valmiera and Riga by other farmers' tractors to accompany them to the event venue. After the event in Riga, the tractor will also make a short stop in Bauska, at the city hall square, at 18:00. On Friday, November 16, in the morning, the tractor will participate in a Lithuanian farmers' event in Kedainiai. In turn, before reaching its destination in Brussels, the tractor is also scheduled to make a stop in Berlin, where a meeting with German farmers' organizations is also planned.

Uldis Krievārs, member of the board of the LLKA: "It is very important that right now, before European decision-makers start approving the EU multi-annual budget, we are able to come together, agree and show that the issue of EU direct payments is a crucial issue of development, even survival, for Latvian and all Baltic farmers. In order to be able to organize such an ambitious, international campaign, not only unity in views and actions was necessary, but also funds, the lion's share of which were donated by Latvian cooperatives, especially the grain cooperative LATRAPS, which last week added another 48,000 LVL to the lobby account, thus a total of almost 120,000 LVL has been credited to the EU direct payments lobby account established by the LLKA. These funds will also allow us to continue to organize campaigns, attracting specialists who ensure coverage of the events in international media."

The tractor will be equipped with a GPS system, and anyone interested will be able to follow its movement on the Tallinn-Brussels route on the LLKA website. www.llka.lv, videos from events in the Baltics, Germany and Brussels will even be posted here regularly.

Information prepared and additional information provided by EU Direct Payments Campaign Coordinator Sabīne Puķe, sabine.puke@llka.lv, +371 26340794