zemeunvalsts.lv.commentary

Listening to and reading the news from European Union countries about various events within the Union, one gets the impression that “everything is calm” in our country. Poles are unhappy about something, but their discontent is “not correct”; the Hungarian political leadership is unhappy about something else, but even so, despite being a European country and an EU member state, they are “not thinking in a European way”; and one can watch the recently departed British and the resulting complications between the island nation and France as if watching an adventure film... The political leadership and bureaucracy in Latvia are busy with upcoming elections and the simplified execution of various instructions, forgetting... the interests of the country and the people of Latvia. The unified European space and the union of countries have shown us time and again: there is a union and there are the interests of each individual country. Moreover, these are sometimes the interests of an independent, sovereign EU member state – interests which can be very narrow, short-sighted, and impossible to fit into any frames. Now, with the virus actively raging, many things and developments are perceived more sharply, clearly, and unusually, and the question of the interests of Latvia and its people is becoming more and more pressing every day. How so? Will there be work, who will have work, will there be opportunities, will there be prohibitions, or... the green-minded phrases of green politicians for a green group of voters will not heat a log cabin, feed a family, or provide jobs for people. Practical matters must be left to practitioners.

In order to develop a common position and defend their interests at all political levels regarding the potential negative consequences of the implementation of the European Union's Green Deal, land users — farmers, foresters, and peat extractors — will form a joint council and will henceforth address all issues in an inter-institutional working group led by the Prime Minister. It is planned to involve Latvian scientists in this work as well, in order to jointly find the best and least painful ways for the Latvian economy: how to reduce CO2 emissions and how to increase CO2 sequestration.

This is the solution for future action reached at the seminar-discussion “Latvian economic sectors in the crossfire of the European Green Deal. Will there still be agriculture, forestry, and peat production in Latvia?”, organised jointly by the Land Use Committee of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Forest Certification Council of Latvia, and SIA “Laflora”. Since the EU Green Deal will not only affect Latvian land users, it is definitely necessary to intensify cooperation with land managers from other EU member states, especially with the relevant European-level industry associations. It is important that industry representatives are not just heard, but that the talks and cooperation result in concrete actions within the European Union structures. In Latvia, the platform for a dialogue between all interested parties could be the National Energy and Climate Council chaired by the Prime Minister, or a council specifically created for “Fit for 55”, which, in addition to land users and the manufacturing industries that use their products, would also include the financial sector, the top political and practical leadership of the Ministries of Economics, Agriculture, Finance, and Environmental Protection and Regional Development, and, of course, scientists.

“Such serious changes as those required by the transformation to a climate-neutral economy have not yet been experienced in Latvia or the European Union. Implementing them, as well as identifying, preventing, or maximally minimising potential negative side effects, is not possible within the framework of a single ministry,” emphasised Māris Liopa, Chairman of the Land Use Committee of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Forest Certification Council of Latvia. He reminded that there is great concern about how Latvian land will be managed in the future, so the adoption of balanced, appropriate decisions cannot be allowed to take place in a narrow circle within a few politicians' offices. Decisions must be made in discussions with the industries and based on scientific research conducted in Latvia, rather than on often erroneous assumptions from Brussels and EU structures. “To begin a conversation about the potential impact of the EU Green Deal on the Latvian economy, our potential gains and, at the same time, losses, a socio-economic assessment is necessary. Such an assessment does not, unfortunately, currently exist,” explains M. Liopa. He points out that the goal of the planned discussions is not to cancel the EU Green Deal, but to develop the most suitable and effective solutions for Latvian conditions, with the minimum possible harmful impact on the forest sector, agriculture and food processing, peat extraction and substrate production, as well as employment and tax revenues.

“In Latvia, unfortunately, there is no platform or institution where the most suitable and advantageous position for Latvia could be prepared, because each ministry still looks at specific issues only from the perspective of its own competence. The overall picture, which is influenced by various factors, is often not seen within the ministries,” points out Arnis Muižnieks, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Forest Owners' Association. “The first homework that must be done by land managers is to clarify our common vision and proposals through mutual discussions on what to do and how. We must approach the ministries, the government, and political parties only with clear and unified recommendations and proposals.”

“Peat is on the ‘front line’ of the EU Green Deal, as they want to ‘take it out of the game’, even though it is clear that the peat extracted in Latvia is processed into substrates used by nursery growers and farmers. We have informed peat substrate buyers abroad and colleagues working in the peat industry about the situation,” emphasises Uldis Ameriks, Chairman of the Board of SIA “Laflora”. A. Muižnieks points out that forest owners in European countries are already consolidating their position and informing EU structures about it.

“The Green Deal will affect not only land users but also the volumes of products they produce, income, the number of employees, and the taxes paid, so Members of the European Parliament from Latvia must also be involved in this process, so that our representatives can cooperate with deputies elected from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, and other member states of the Union and achieve a reasonable solution with adequate funding,” emphasises M. Liopa. U. Ameriks reminds us that Latvia, as an EU member state, has the right to block the adoption of specific EU regulations if they threaten to destroy jobs in Latvia.