The President and the Commissioner discussed draft EU multiannual financial perspective proposed by the Finnish Presidency during the meeting.
The President stressed that the draft budget was not acceptable for Lithuania, and the planned drastic funding cuts (in case of Lithuania, even by 27 percent) for cohesion policy could have negative consequences for the implementation of climate change goals.
The President said that Lithuania had a negative view on the slower than expected growth of direct payments to Lithuanian farmers, because farmers in some other Member States received up to three times higher payments. The President emphasized that Lithuania sought full convergence of direct payments by 2027, starting from the minimum level of payments of EUR 196 per hectare, agreed back in 2013.
The President told Commissioner Hahn that, before their meeting, he had met with Lithuanian, Latvian, Slovakian and Polish farmers who had been protesting in central Brussels and heard about the injustice they had experienced. President Nausėda highlighted that by their protests farmers aimed to draw the attention of EU leaders to the gap of direct payments and their consequences for the national economy, competitiveness in Europe and implementation of new, innovative, and environmentally friendly projects.
According to the President, a sustainable, fair and well-balanced EU budget is crucial for Lithuania to implement strategic transport and energy projects, as success of those projects is also in the interest of the EU.
The President drew the attention of Commissioner Hahn to the need to ensure adequate funding of the Ignalina NPP and Kaliningrad special transit program. During the discussion on the innovation funding program Horizon, the President expressed hope that equal opportunities would be guaranteed to all EU countries.
As to the implementation of climate change policy, the President set out the arguments why the transition to a climate-neutral policy by 2050 should be based on safe and advanced technologies and the third countries should also comply with the highest environmental and safety standards.
This year, Austria nominated Johannes Hahn as Member of the European Commission for a third term. In the new Commission, he is responsible for budget planning. In the past, he was in charge of regional and EU neighborhood policies.
