Friday, December 14, the Minister for Agriculture, Jānis Dūklavs consulted with leaders of the Latvian framers’ organizations and discussed the campaign, organized in Brussels on Thursday, December 13 by farmers of the Baltic States, with a view to attract attention of heads of other EU Member States and of the European Commission to unfair distribution of direct payments that discriminates against farmers of some Member States and places them in unequal conditions of competition.
As has already been reported, on December 13, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian farmers carried out two vast campaigns in Brussels as a protest against unfair distribution of direct payments to Member States. Besides, farmers from Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the second campaign by the Baltic States.
“It is very important that farmers support the efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture in achieving fair direct payments for farmers also by such noticeable campaigns in Brussels, drawing international attention and specifically of other Member States to unequal distribution of direct payments. It is very important that all the Baltic States hold a unanimous opinion on and demand for fair direct payments for all three Baltic States. I appreciate that, yesterday, farmers from Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, who also are not satisfied with the distribution of direct payments among new and old Member States, showed their support and joined Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian farmers. Moreover, during the campaign in Brussels, representatives of the European Milk Council showed their solidarity with farmers of the Baltic States, reminding French, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss and Norwegian farmers that we all are in the single European market therefore the support must be equal for all the States,” said Jānis Dūklavs, the Latvian Minister for Agriculture, after talks with representatives of the Latvian farmers’ organizations.
The Minister for Agriculture emphasized that it is very important to maintain the unity of the Baltic and other States also henceforth, demanding a fair distribution of direct payments after 2020 because all together these States constitute a considerable force in the fight for interests of their farmers.