Latvian agricultural NGOs call on MEPs not to support hasty and unrealistic proposals for a nature restoration regulation

On July 6 of this year, 17 Latvian agricultural NGOs signed and sent a joint letter to members of the European Parliament (EP) calling on them not to support the further development of the proposals for the nature restoration regulation in the vote scheduled for the EP plenary session on July 12 of this year. In the letter, the farmers' NGOs emphasize that the requirements included in the proposals will negatively affect the Latvian economy as a whole, as they have been developed in general and generally for all EU member states, despite the individual and different environmental situation of each country.

JOINT LETTER OF NGOs

LOSP Board Chairman Guntis Gūtmanis: "Nature protection and conservation are essential and necessary – every farmer and forester will agree with this. However, it is important to implement these processes with appropriate instruments, fully assessing the actual situation and all influencing factors, so that the justification for the requirements to be fulfilled and the results to be achieved correspond to the national needs and objectives of the country. In particular, we call on MEPs not to support the further progress of the proposals for a regulation on nature restoration before an adequate, in-depth assessment of the economic, social and financial impact of the proposals on the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors in the Member States, as well as the impact on food security, has been carried out.".

At the same time, it should be noted that Latvia supports the main objective of the proposal to improve the condition of species, habitats and ecosystems in order to promote the conservation of biodiversity, for the benefit of the climate and people. However, the nature restoration objectives and deadlines set out in the proposal for a regulation prepared by the European Commission (EC) are ambitious, disproportionate and expensive, which will significantly affect the development of the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors that are important for the Latvian economy.

Latvia is a Member State with one of the lowest proportions of agricultural land (301% of the total land area) in the EU. At the same time, Latvia is one of the few Member States with the highest proportion of organic soil areas in the structure of agricultural land in the country.

The proposal for a regulation focuses on improving the state of the environment and biodiversity in the European Union (EU) and its Member States, however, it is also important to take into account current processes in the EU and the world – the EU energy crisis caused by the war initiated by Russia in Ukraine and the impact on global food availability. When implementing actions in the direction of nature protection, a decrease in food production, both in territorial scope and in total value, is unacceptable. Food security should be excluded from the target areas. Food security is a matter of national security for each Member State and the European Union as a whole. Moreover, the European Commission has not carried out a comprehensive impact assessment, therefore, no one has the slightest idea what will happen in reality if the regulation is approved.

Another worrying aspect is that the current wording of the regulation suggests that EU administrative institutions want to decide on the use of land instead of its owner, and moreover, the regulation envisages flooding huge areas of Latvian land. “In our opinion, the European Commission has violated all norms of reason. The regulation stipulates that it will be necessary to flood, or “return natural hydrological processes” to organic soils. So it turns out that Latvia has invested millions for decades to install land reclamation systems and make the land economically viable, but the European Commission says that these systems must be dug out and the land must be flooded. Hardly anyone suspects that the land reclamation systems are connected, and by digging out one section, roads, schools, and private homes can be flooded elsewhere. This regulation is ill-considered, hasty, and in fact begins to cancel the landowner’s right to use the land as he sees fit,” emphasizes Chairman of the Board of the Farmers' Assembly Juris Lazdins.

Similar to Latvia, the European Parliament's Committees on Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries and the Environment have also highlighted the disproportionate requirements and the lack of an adequate comprehensive impact assessment on the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors and food security, and have rejected the proposal's further progress.

According to the information available to us, the debate on this proposal for a regulation could take place on 11 July from 9:00 to 11:50, but the votes could take place on 12 or 13 July.

The joint NGO letter was signed by:

Guntis Gūtmanis, Chairman of the Board of the Agricultural Organizations Cooperation Council;
Chairman of the Board of the Farmers' Assembly Juris Lazdins;
Kaspars Melnis, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Livestock Farms;
Indulis Jansons, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives;
Jānis Šolks, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Dairy Farmers' Central Union;
Dzintra Lejniece, Chairwoman of the Board of the Latvian Pig Breeders Association;
Ingrīda Krīgere, board member of the Latvian Peat Association;
Arnis Muižnieks, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Forest Owners Association;
Aiga Kraukle, Chairwoman of the Board of the Potato Growers and Processors Union;
Jānis Gaigals, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian United Poultry Industry Association;
Ināra Šure, Head of the Latvian Food Enterprises Federation;
Sabina Alta, Chairwoman of the Board of the Seedling and Peat Innovation Foundation;
Marija Gailīte, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Latvian Gardeners;
Māra Rudzāte, Chairwoman of the Board of the Latvian Fruit Growers Association;
Sandra Stricka, Chairman of the Board of the Farmers' Association;
Aivars Bernāns, Chairman of the Board of the Latgale Producer Farmers' Association;
Sandra Eimane, Chairwoman of the Board of the Latvian Young Farmers' Club