Back to work in Brussels and Beyond

Source: Ph. (Phil) Hogan i, published on Friday, April 1 2016.

Last week Brussels suffered a horrific terrorist attack in Brussels Airport and at the heart of the EU Quarter. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the EU Commission are with the victims and their families.

Last week Brussels suffered a horrific terrorist attack in Brussels Airport and at the heart of the EU Quarter. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the EU Commission are with the victims and their families.

The bomb at Maelbeek metro station happened right beside the Commission's Directorate-general for Agriculture and Rural Development, where hundreds of my colleagues work.

DG Agri was evacuated and remained closed for two days while a structural impact assessment took place, with colleagues working from home. Now, thankfully, we are fully operational again, and I salute the courage and determination of all involved.

For my part, it's very much business as usual. This week, following meetings with farm organisations in Brussels, I travelled to Lithuania and Estonia to discuss the Baltic agricultural markets situation with elected representatives, farmers and agri-food stakeholders.

I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet people on the ground and hear their views, as I know that this is not an easy time for Baltic farmers. This is the EU region most affected by the Russian ban, with farmers and agribusinesses losing a key market worth €5.8 Billion.

I met with the Prime Ministers, Agriculture Ministers, Parliamentary Agriculture Committees, and Farming Organisations of both countries, and I assured them that the Commission will do everything it can to assist them in this difficult time.

I reminded them that in order to assist Baltic farmers in the face of the Russian ban, within three weeks of my appointment in November 2014, we put in place a €28 million support package for the three Baltic countries.

Then, after a deterioration in prices through last spring and summer, the Commission presented a €500 million package, offering swift and decisive help to farmers in the face of the worsening market situation. The core element of that was a €420 million targeted aid package for EU Member States, from which Estonia received €7.6 million and Lithuania €12.6 million.

At last month's Agriculture Council, many of the measures that Estonia and Lithuania favoured were included in the list of measures that I announced, including the promotion of financial instruments, increased intervention ceilings for Skim Milk Powder and butter, the use of export credits and the establishment of a Meat Market Observatory.

I believe that these measures, combined with those announced last September, will have a positive impact on the markets and I trust that all Member States will be patient and allow time for the measures to have the desired effect.

Many thanks to everyone I met in Lithuania and Estonia for their hospitality, and for engaging with me in an efficient and productive way.

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With Estonian PM Taavi Rõivas

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With Estonian PM and Agriculture Minister

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With Lithuanian PM Algirdas Butkevičius and ‪Baltic Agriculture Ministers

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Opening the Agrobalt event in Lithuania

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