Baltic farmers' protest action in Brussels on Thursday!

On Thursday, December 13, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union, the President of the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will gather at the European Council in Brussels to discuss the EU budget. As the equalization of direct payments between member states only takes place “on paper”, farmers from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania will protest in Brussels during this time for fair direct payments to farmers.

Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre, Deputy Chairwoman of the Association “Farmers’ Council”: “On June 1 of this year, the European Commission presented a proposal for the future Common Agricultural Policy. The issue of fair direct payments between the Member States of the European Union has always been a pressing issue for Baltic farmers. Unfortunately, the new CAP proposal for the 2021-2027 period does not see any significant changes and Baltic farmers will continue to receive only around 751% of the EU average payment. Considering that all EU Member States compete in the same market and the requirements for the production of agricultural products are identical, the fact that Baltic farmers are being deliberately put in a worse situation for the third planning period is unacceptable. For this reason, together with our Lithuanian and Estonian colleagues, we will participate in a protest in Brussels.”

LOSP Board Chairman Edgars Treibergs: "As in the previous period, now, after discussions and lengthy justifications on our part, Latvian farmers are being placed in unequal competition. Latvia does not support the reduction in CAP funding proposed by the Commission and we insist that the EU Common Agricultural Policy must be provided with strong EU funding in the next period. If we are not taken into account by following the official, bureaucratic path, then we must go and express our opinion in another format in person in Brussels. We cannot stand aside, because in this way we voluntarily give the green light to other EU countries to decide the future of our agriculture, so thank you to all farmers and representatives of organizations who will go to Brussels to express their position together."

Currently, the European Commission reports that it has fulfilled its promise to equalize payments between member states. The equalization is only “on paper” – payments to the old EU member states are reduced by a couple of percent, and to the Baltic states are slightly increased. If we look at the situation objectively – at the end of this planning period we will receive 75% of the EU average payment amount. At the end of the next period, taking into account the increase in area, we will receive only 77%. This is a tiny increase of 2% in 7 years. At this pace of “equalization”, we will see equal direct payments only around 2100, and neither we, nor our children, nor, most likely, our grandchildren, will be able to farm under the same conditions as the farmers of “old Europe”.

Representatives of farmers in the Baltic States have informed all involved officials about the protest action, such as European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan, and European Commission Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

The protest will take place on December 13 from 10:00 to 13:00 at Schuman Circle in Brussels. 

PRES_On December 13, Baltic farmers will protest in Brussels for fair direct payments_10.12.2018