Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze will participate in the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels (Belgium) on Thursday and Friday, 11–12 December. At the meeting, ministers will debate the promotion of innovation and measures to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2027, and will reach political agreement on fishing quotas for 2026 in EU waters and for EU vessels in waters outside the EU, as well as on fishing quotas for certain stocks for 2027 and 2028.
During the debate on promoting innovation in agriculture post- 2027, initiated by Denmark who is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Latvia will recommend strengthening knowledge transfer and cooperation between science and entrepreneurs in rural regions. A good example of linking payment conditions to the use of specific technologies is eco-schemes, which are already being implemented in practice.
When discussing further simplification of the CAP, it should be noted that this has always been one of Latvia’s top priorities. Although the European Commission (EC) has introduced several CAP simplification measures, the EC’s proposal for the CAP after 2027 raises serious concerns that the ongoing process of simplifying agricultural policy could, on the contrary, make the CAP more complex for both farmers and administering authorities. Therefore, Latvia will argue in the debates that in the future, less detailed planning and reporting requirements should be developed, and broader and more easily verifiable measures should be introduced.
The EU Council plans to reach a political agreement on fishing quotas for several fish stocks in EU waters and for EU vessels in waters outside the EU. For Latvia, the most important among these are fishing opportunities for snow crab and cod fishing in the area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).
During the visit to Brussels, the Minister for Agriculture will also hold a series of important meetings on key issues for Latvia’s producing sectors. On Thursday, an event on peat as a strategic resource for European food and plant production will take place. It is being organised by Armands Krauze together with Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essayah, to discuss support for Europe’s self-sufficiency and competitiveness.
On Friday, a meeting of ministers from the “For Forest Group+” alliance is scheduled to review the work accomplished in 2025 and to outline future cooperation in addressing forestry sector issues.
Also on Friday, a meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be held, during which they will discuss the future implementation of the CAP and other current sector-related issues.