A coalition of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian farmers sent a letter on Friday 7 December to the European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, and Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, calling for a fair distribution of agricultural payments (convergence of support).
This letter was sent ahead of the European Council meeting of 13 and 14 December, at which EU leaders will discuss the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF).
Since joining the EU in 2004, the Baltic States have always received significantly less agricultural funding than other Member States. Baltic farmers receive only 54 to 60% of the European average of direct payments, while their production costs amount to 129% (Estonia), 112% (Lithuania) and 113% (Latvia).
The European Council of 7 and 8 February 2013 had requested that all Member States reach at least the level of €196 per hectare in current prices by 2020. However, the proposals on the post-2020 CAP provide that by 2027 Baltic farmers will receive only 77% of the EU average.
Farmers in these countries are calling on the European institutions to endorse full convergence of direct aids. On 13 December in Brussels, farmers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will protest outside the Council buildings against the “unfair” allocation of direct payments in the EU. To read this letter: https://bit.ly/2RHvZoq. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)