"We are planning to protest on February 7, if agricultural issues are dealt with during the meeting. We have already obtained permission for this," Andriejus Stancikas, the president of the Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture, told BNS.
He says that around 100 farmers from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will take part in the protest to demand that EU payments to Baltic farmers be increased to at least match the EU average.
Stancikas and representatives of Latvian and Estonia farmers' associations are meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė on Tuesday.
Baltic farmers staged a protest in Brussels in late November, when EU leaders discussed the issue of agricultural payments. It was proposed then that direct payments to Lithuanian farmers should reach at least 196 euros per hectare in 2020, more than proposed previously but less than demanded by farmers.
The November summit ended without agreement on the bloc's next seven-year budget. Therefore, EU leaders will continue budget discussions during their next summit scheduled for February 7-8.
