The European Parliament's Agriculture and Rural Development Committee has voted in favor of a 500 million euro increase in direct support to Estonia during the next budget period of the European Union, which marks a more than 40 percent rise compared to the financial framework 2007-2013.
The committee took a vote on farming support payments to member states in the 2014-2020 period on Thursday.
In the opinion of Ivari Padar, a member of the European Parliament for Estonia, the agreement reached today is a positive development for Estonia and the EU alike. «The differences between direct support to member states will diminish, but final equalization will not yet be achieved,» he said.
Furthermore, the rules on implementing greening measures which were originally quite stringent will become more flexible, Padar said. «To sum it up, several proposals made by us have found a place in the approved compromises,» he said.
This week's votes represent the final position of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee which will be put to the vote in the European Parliament in March. The agreement on direct support will be final after the parliament, the European Commission and the European Council have agreed on it.