RIGA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Phil Hogan, European Union's (EU) Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, visited Latvia on Thursday, with the bloc's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and subsidies to farmers dominating his meetings with Latvian officials.
Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told the EU commissioner that Latvia is interested in a strong EU, including a strong and properly funded CAP.
The EU's support for rural development is also highly important to Latvia as it provides the opportunity to develop those rural territories that currently lag behind the average EU level. Prosperity of inhabited rural territories, especially near the EU's external borders, is also a matter of the whole bloc's security, said Kucinskis.
Both Kucinskis and Hogan agreed that it is time to provide equal direct subsidy payments to farmers in all EU member states and that the bloc's agriculture has to be properly funded.
At present, direct payments to Latvian farmers are the smallest in the EU.
The talks also touched on the damage Latvian farmers have suffered from recent heavy rainfall and floods. Kucinskis indicated that a state of emergency has been declared in 29 rural districts over the floods, which have caused an estimated 37.30-million-euro loss to the affected farms.
During meeting with Latvian Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs, Hogan and the minister emphasized the necessity for a strong, modern and sufficiently funded agriculture policy.
The officials agreed that safe and high-quality food, clean environment, biological diversity in agriculture and populated rural regions have to be ensured in the EU despite challenges like Brexit, migration and security issues.
Duklavs also voiced hope for equality in the distribution of direct subsidy payments to farmers, calling for equal terms of competition in all EU member states. Enditem
