Baltic, Polish agriculture ministries form Brussels bloc
Staff Writer |
The Ministers for Agriculture of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland signed a joint declaration in Riga agreeing on a unified position in negotiations with the European Commission on the EU Common Agricultural Policy after 2020.
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The Declaration was signed by Jānis Dūklavs, the Latvian Minister for Agriculture and also acting PRime Minister with PM Maris Kučinskis away on holiday, Tarmo Tamm, the Estonian Minister for Rural Development, Bronius Markauskas, the Lithuanian Minister for Agriculture and Krzysztof Jurgiel, the Polish minister for Agriculture and Rural Development.
In the declaration, which makes frequent use of capital letters, the ministers say they: "CALL for fairness and equality between Member States and URGE to complete the process of full convergence of direct payments between Member States.
"UNDERLINE that all EU farmers have to meet the same standards and requirements and face the same challenges."
“This is a historical moment as our four States agreed to voice our joint position in the EU Agricultural and Fisheries Council on the need to equalize the direct payments among Member States as the current differentiated level of support is distorting the market. We do not request more funding but equality,” said Dūklavs.
“This joint opinion is not the opinion of only the Ministers of Agriculture of the Baltic States and Poland, it represents the position of Governments, Parliaments and farmers of all four States regarding the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.
“For us, the support from our Governments and farmers is very important when defending interests of the Baltic States and Poland in Brussels,” said Jurgiel. ■
A strong storm that originated over the Pacific has tracked through the Great Basin and is currently transitioning across the Rockies to redevelop across the central High Plains later today into early Saturday morning.