Finance Ministry denies plan to cut agricultural support

Estonia’s Finance Ministry has denied claims that more than €100 million could be taken from agricultural support in the European Union’s next long-term budget, ERR reported.

Triin Tomingas, head of the ministry’s external funds department, said on Vikerraadio’s “Uudis +” programme on Friday that Estonia is currently allocated €6.5 billion from the proposed EU budget for 2028 to 2034. About €2 billion of that would be intended for agriculture and food production, although final agreements have not yet been reached.

“Two billion euros has been proposed for the agricultural sector,” Tomingas said, adding that the Regional and Agriculture Ministry and the sector would still need to decide how to divide the funds between self-sufficiency, innovation, competitiveness and the resilience of supply chains.

Under the European Commission’s proposal, funding would be distributed in two stages, unlike in previous long-term budgets. Seventy-five percent would be allocated initially, while the distribution of the remaining funds would be decided in 2031 and 2034. Member states would also have greater freedom to decide how to use the money.

The proposed €2 billion for Estonia’s rural areas includes a separate €546 million allocation intended to reduce the income and competitiveness gap in Estonian agriculture. The amount was calculated using indicators including gross national product, population and the level of direct agricultural payments.

Tomingas said the calculation formula would no longer prescribe how states must use the funding. Some targets would remain for climate and social support, while agriculture would have a guaranteed net allocation of €1.53 billion. Estonia would otherwise be free to decide which problems to address and which sectors to support.

Of the €546 million, decisions currently need to be made on three-quarters, or €393 million, after administrative costs are deducted. The remaining amount could be allocated later, Tomingas said.

Asked whether the Finance Ministry had earmarked the remaining funds for another purpose, as claimed by the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, Tomingas said it had not.

She said a distribution proposal prepared for government discussion allocated €2.12 billion in total to the Regional and Agriculture Ministry. Of that amount, €2 billion had been proposed for agriculture, food production, rural support and fisheries. The government and the ministry will now discuss how to set priorities within that total.

The Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce threatened on Tuesday to bring farmers to Tallinn in tractors to protest what it described as a Finance Ministry proposal to allocate €295 million to agriculture and food production in the next long-term EU budget, instead of the €546 million included in the European Commission’s budget proposal.