On Monday, 5 September, chairmen of the parliamentary European affairs committees of the Baltic States and Poland held a conference in Lithuania at which they adopted a final document calling on the EU to provide adequate cohesion funds to the less developed EU member states. This call was included in the final document at the request of Imants Lieģis, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima.

Chairmen of the European affairs committees from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland emphasise that the EU Cohesion Policy should be retained as an important tool for equalising the economic and social disparities between the wealthy and less developed EU member states and regions. It is stated in the final document that the next multiannual financial framework of the EU the Cohesion Policy should also be focused on fostering growth and development in the less developed EU regions.

MPs from the Baltic States and Poland also indicate in the document that the European Commission’s proposal to limit the cohesion allocations to 2.5% of GNI is unacceptable because such an approach may result in a substantial drop in investment in the less developed member states.

The chapter on the EU Cohesion Policy was included in the document following a proposal by Imants Lieģis and with a reference to the Statement on the EU Budget’s Financing for Reducing Social and Economic Disparities after 2013 adopted by the Saeima on 14 July, in which the Latvian parliament requested that the existing level of cohesion funding be maintained in order not to jeopardise implementation of successfully launched investment programmes.

“I believe all MPs, in discussions with their counterparts from other member states, should voice the position adopted in the relevant statements of the Saeima, for this is the only way to defend Latvia’s interests at the European level,” said Lieģis.

The final document of the conference of the European affairs committee chairmen also calls on the EU to design an agricultural direct payment system that ensures fair competition among all member states. It is proposed that an equitable system be designed so as to ensure that there are no significant differences between the highest and lowest levels of direct payments.

Saeima Press Service