On 10 July, European Union (EU) member states agreed to the European Commission's (EC) proposal for an EU emergency support allocation for 27 member states, totalling 330 million euros, of which 6,796,780 euros has been allocated to Latvia.
As Minister for Agriculture Didzis Šmits emphasises: "This European Union financial support is a clear testament to the fact that by intensively and argumentatively representing the interests of Latvian farmers regarding the distribution of highly limited European Union funding among member states, it is possible to secure the financial support that the sector needs so urgently right now."
The EC regulation also provides the opportunity for member states to supplement their support from the national budget by up to 200 per cent. The allocated support must be paid out by 31 January 2024.
"Although we initially indicated to the European Commission that 11 million euros were needed for the crisis-affected dairy farming sector, I am satisfied that, when assessed by the volume of direct payments, we have received proportionally the largest funding – 6.8 million euros. Compared to other countries and also considering the capacity of the agricultural reserve fund, this is a very favourable decision for us," emphasises D. Šmits.