The Minister for Agriculture, Armands Krauze will attend the meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union (EU) (Council) in Luxembourg on Monday 21 October. Member States will discuss the proposal for fishing quotas in the Baltic Sea for next year and will also seek agreement on the framework for the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) beyond 2027.
The European Commission’s proposal on fishing quotas for 2025 for EU Member States, including Latvia, offered a disproportionately large reduction in the catches of sprat – 42% compared to 2024. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the reduction should be based on scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which does not recommend such a large reduction. An excessive drop in sprat production will put fishing and fish processing companies at a critical juncture and disrupt the entire industry. But the stocks of sprat saved will be caught by Russia, which has significantly increased fish harvesting in the Baltic Sea in recent years. Latvia is not satisfied with the current catch offer and ZM will encourage a more reasonable reduction to be applied, considering socio-economic aspects also for the future viability of the sector.
The draft conclusions of the EU Council on the CAP after 2027 contain very important aspects for agriculture. However, the framework does not mention one issue of particular importance for Latvia – levelling of direct payments. Latvia has repeatedly encouraged the elimination of inequalities in Member States' direct payments, so the Council will focus on the inclusion of this issue, fair distribution of CAP support and the levelling-off of direct payments in the next multi-annual financial period after 2027.