On Thursday April 18, in Brussels, at the European Council meeting, where heads of all the governments participated, two decisions, initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture, have been adopted, which will have a positive impact on Latvia’s agriculture and food industry. The European Commission has been instructed to assess and propose solutions to increase de minimis threshold, which in the current economic situation in agriculture, is laying down too low and restrictive limits for State aid. There were only some Member States which supported such step however, Latvia’s initiative has been heard of and incorporated in wording of common conclusions of the heads of governments. This is an essential decision toward facilitating of economic activity.
The second essential decision of the European Council envisages to curb even more undesirable imports to EU from aggressor states. Provisionally, more and more Russian and Belurussian goods will be subjected to considerably higher import tariffs. Latvia, at the initiative of the Minister Armands Krauze, at the beginning was the first and only State, which insisted on making such EU decision. In the result, at the EU level, a package of measures has been adopted which will restrict morally unacceptable and economically distortive imports from aggressor States of agricultural goods to the EU and Latvia.
In adoption of both of these decisions, a professional and successful work in representation of the State interests has been invested that proves Latvia’s role and ability to influence the EU decisions for 20 years since Latvia is the EU Member State.