On December 13, during the European Council meeting, farmers’ organisations from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia will hold a protest demonstration, demanding for an adequate funding for the Common Agricultural Policy budget and equal competition conditions across the EU.
The farmers demand:
- We demand that the direct payments the farmers of our countries will receive in 2021-2027 programming period are at least equal to the EU direct payment average;
- We demand that support for Pillar II (Rural Development Program) remains at least at the 2014-2020 level;
- We demand the establishment of a uniform ceiling for all the agricultural support Member States finance exclusively from state budget, as well as a uniform ceiling for co-financing from the state budget in the Rural Development Programs;
- We demand a radical simplification of support mechanisms and a reduction of administrative burden for both administrations and applicants/beneficiaries;
- We demand that specific financial and organizational mechanisms are created to encourage and facilitate the establishment of young farmers, as well as measures for new actors in the agricultural sector that no longer fall under the definition of ‘young farmer’.
“We live in a single, united Europe. We sell our produce in the single market. We need the support for the farmers to be sufficient and non-discriminatory“ – stress the farmers.
