On Monday, January 27th, at the European Union’s (EU) Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Council) meeting in Brussels, ministers from member states discussed how to strengthen farmers' influence in the overall food supply chain and what changes to make in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reduce bureaucracy and the excessive administrative burden on farmers and EU member states.
Considering last year's farmer protests, the European Commission (EC) considered proposals from member states, including Latvia’s, and published recommendations highlighting the need to enhance farmers' influence in the food supply chains and strengthen cross-border cooperation to prevent unfair trading practices. During the Council’s discussions, Latvia positively assessed the EC's proposals but emphasized that, instead of introducing new requirements, existing ones should be simplified to provide real benefits to producers.
In the discussion on simplifying the CAP, Latvia stressed that significant changes to EU regulations must be made during the current planning period. The need for changes in CAP implementation was unanimously supported by member states in September 2024, when Latvia initiated the discussion on the Council level. Latvia consistently believes that greater emphasis should be placed on the results achieved by the CAP, simplifying reporting and reducing the impact various technical data collection and reporting methods have on farmers. Additionally, it is crucial to provide more flexibility when applying the current requirements in order to stabilize farmers’ financial situations and avoid hindering agricultural production, which is the sector's primary task.
In the exchange of views on EU external trade, Latvia again urged the EC to act promptly and raise customs tariffs on products from Russia and Belarus, such as fish, grains, vegetables, fruits, sugar and cocoa products, beer, and others.
When discussing EU free trade agreements, Latvia positively acknowledged the opportunities created by existing and potential agreements for EU producers in third-country markets. At the same time, it reminded the Council of the importance of ensuring equal competition conditions, including welfare and production standards and environmental requirements, for third-country products entering the EU.
The Latvian delegation at the Council meeting was led by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ģirts Krūmiņš.