On Thursday 13 December, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis met with Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian farmers, who were outside the Europa building in Brussels to join the protest for fair direct payments.
Addressing the farmers, M. Kučinskis pointed out that the situation on the market and costs for the EU farmers are essentially the same, therefore the support should also be equal. “It is important that farmers not only from Latvia but also from other countries come to Brussels to express their views on this issue,” notes M. Kučinskis. On this day, there were two protests in Brussels; the first one was held by the Baltic farmers from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania while in the second protest for fair direct payments in the European Union they were joined by the farmers from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
For 15 years Latvian and all Baltic farmers have been fighting for fair competition in the single market. To date, the amount of direct payments to the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian farmers is not based on unbiased production costs but on obsolete statistics.
On Thursday 13 December and Friday 14 December, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis will be in Brussels, where he will attend the European Council meeting. One of the most important issues that the EU heads of state and government will address in this meeting is the EU multi-annual financial framework 2021-2027.
Andrejs Vaivars
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 29228678
E-mail: Andrejs.Vaivars@mk.gov.lv