Latvian farmers watch EU budget talks that will shape their support

Farmers in Latvia are closely following tense negotiations on the European Union's (EU) next multi-year budget. The outcome will also determine how much support the agricultural sector receives.

There is a view that farmers should be able to operate even without subsidies. In practice, however, many farmers openly say that without EU direct payments, which are paid straight to farms, they would stop farming altogether.

The source is a commentary titled "Should we prepare for disappointment?", published by Stars, a newspaper in the Madona area of Latvia. Only the opening passage is publicly available, and the full text is behind a subscription paywall. For that reason, this report cannot give specific budget figures, the positions of the negotiating parties or any possible cuts to support.