Politicians will invite representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture to the Seimas "on the mat" over delayed payments to farmers
Some Lithuanian farmers who participated in the "Investments in agricultural holdings" programme are likely to miss out on their support this year. Around €20 million of payments have been decided to be carried over to next year. While some politicians blame the irresponsibility of the authorities and demand to know who made the wrong decision, others believe that the situation can still be managed and the missing money found.
An irresponsible decision
Politicians interviewed by Agrobite.lt have a generally negative view of the situation.
Kęstutis Mažeika, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Rural Affairs (RAC), stresses that this is irresponsible behaviour on the part of the institutions: „The institutions, which require farmers to concentrate as much as possible and to make a financial contribution, have themselves acted very irresponsibly. The first thing to do is to hold those responsible for these decisions to account.
Bronis Ropė, Chairman of the Seimas CRC, echoes this view. He also takes a negative view of the situation and even asks rhetorically why the applications were collected in the first place if there are now no funds to pay for them.
„Farmers have their own obligations and may now have to pay higher interest rates. However, the Ministry of Agriculture has the capacity to review the budget and find the missing money. This is not the first time this situation has arisen – it is just a matter of talking to the Ministry of Finance“, – the politician identifies a solution.
Who is responsible – the NMA or the Ministry of Agriculture?
On the issue of responsibility, politicians are divided.
According to K. Mažeika, the blame should be placed on the entire decision chain.
„When responsibility is shared by a large group – there is really no responsibility at all. Planning is done by the NMA, decisions are taken by the MAFF, and sometimes the processes are reversed. The responsibility is mutual, but this time the mistakes should be acknowledged and corrected, – emphasizes K. Mažeika and adds that this situation does not really add to the trust in the institutions.
B. Ropė takes a tougher line. He says that those who collected the applications and knew about the possible lack of funding should take responsibility.In contrast, Starkevičius calls for solutions rather than culprits: „Both institutions must work together. The NMA has done its job and the MAFF, together with the Ministry of Finance, must now secure funding.“
What next?
Chairman of the Committee on Rural Affairs, B. Ropė, says that if farmers turn to MEPs for help, a response will be given. If farmers appeal, we will react and initiate a parliamentary hearing. They can also take legal action against the authority that signed the contract and is not fulfilling it.
K. "I hope that all sides will be understanding. But the parties have to agree, because in the future we will have to work on other projects. So I don't think either side will want to be angry, they will remain understanding, and neither side will sanction the other if the worst happens.“
K. Starkevičius promised that at the next meeting of the Committee on Rural Affairs he would invite the Ministry of Agriculture to share with him the solutions on how to resolve the situation.
K. Mažeika also promised to raise the issue of parliamentary scrutiny in the Committee.
„We will definitely propose in the committee that it should be an issue of parliamentary control, all the information should be heard, maybe we will hear who made mistakes and where. Decisions should be taken so that such mistakes are not repeated in the future, and at the same time a decision should be taken so that people do not have to wait so long for their payments," Mažeika affirms.
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