Baltic ministers call for strong, fair EU agricultural policy

TALLINN - The agriculture ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania signed a joint declaration in Riga on the future of the European Union's common agricultural policy, emphasizing the need for a strong, fairly funded, and simplified policy.

"Agriculture and food production are a strategic cornerstone of the European Union," Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras said.

"A strong and appropriately funded common agricultural policy is the foundation that ensures food security, fair income for farmers, and the vitality of rural areas," Terras said.

He explained that, according to the signed declaration, the future common agricultural policy must focus on food security while also supporting rural development, environmental protection, and the bioeconomy more broadly.

Terras stressed that it is crucial to equalize the level of direct payments by 2028 at the latest, which would ensure equal competition conditions for all farmers in the European Union.

It is also important that direct payments continue to be fully financed from the EU budget, he added.

The declaration also highlights the need for a strong rural development policy and for significant simplification of the common agricultural policy framework.

The ministers discussed their positions on the future of the common agricultural policy and agreed on the content of the declaration ahead of the meeting.

The declaration was signed today at the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture by Estonia's minister of regional affairs and agriculture, Hendrik Johannes Terras, his Latvian counterpart Armands Krauze, and Lithuanian colleague Ignas Hofmanas.