Latvia’s prime minister on Friday “categorically” rejected the European Commission’s proposal to slash cohesion funds and spending priorities for the Baltic eurozone state in its next multi-year budget. The EU on Tuesday proposed spending more on Italy and other member countries hit by the economic and migrant crises and less on increasingly wealthy eastern states. Latvia stands to get 13 percent less in cohesion funds in the post-2020 spending plan, while Poland and Hungary stand to lose more. “This is unacceptable to Latvia,” Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said, quoted by the BNS Baltic News Service, adding that Latvia “categorically rejects the existing proposal”. European sources said Poland and Hungary would receive more than 20 percent less in cohesion funds in the next budget, compared to the current 2014-2020 budget.

Source: Punch June 01, 2018 16:30 UTC