Latvian farmers to receive compensations for flood damage from EU

RIGA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission has decided to release 3.46 million euros to the Latvian farmers whose crops perished in the past summer's heavy rainfalls and floods, representatives of the European Commission's Representation in Latvia informed.

In this way, the European Union is keeping the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's promise to provide support to the flood-stricken farmers in Latvia.

The European Commission admits that the prolonged rains Latvia saw in the harvesting season from August to October were extraordinary and unprecedented. Adverse weather conditions also hampered the sowing of winter crops.

The 3.5 million euros support to Latvia is part of a wider EU assistance granted to the three Baltic states and Finland. The recipient countries are expected to absorb the 15 million euros financing by the end of September 2018.

In accordance with the EU's draft regulation, the flood compensations will be provided to those farmers who have not yet received any compensations for the damages caused by the rainfalls and floods and who have been unable to sow winter crops because of the bad weather, the Latvian Agriculture Ministry said.

Earlier, the Latvian government allocated almost 15 million euros from its contingency budget to nearly 3,000 flood-stricken farmers.

Latvia applied for EU assistance in October after its agricultural sector had lost an estimated 37 million due to the flooding. Enditem