On April 23rd, during the EU Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs meeting held in Luxembourg, Lithuania expressed its critical position on the reduction of structural funds for the Baltic States and Hungary, and on the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
“We have a clearly critical position on several matters. First of all, on the currently proposed cohesion funds formula which is unfavourable to Baltic States and Hungary. Lithuania would lose about a billion euros if such a formula is applied,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said according to Lithuanian Press Agency ELTA. Mr. Kubilius said also that all Central European countries will stick to their critical position while assessing Common Agriculture Policy.
Lithuania is also expecting higher structural support in 2014-2020 because it has now been cut by 14%, which makes over EUR 0.29 billion. “Together with the Baltic states we are critical of future structural support funds to be allocated to us, because, according to such an odd formula, since 2014 structural funds are to increase quite largely to all the central Europe, while for three Baltic states and Hungary it is to considerably decrease,” Mr. Kubilius had said on March 1.