European Budget Commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski has announced that Polish farmers may expect to see an increase in subsidies from the European Union in the bloc’s next budget.

Speaking to Polish Radio, Friday morning, Lewandowski said that an increase in subsidies for Polish farmers “is a process” adding that currently Latvian and Lithuanian farmers receive twice as less money per hectare.

“It will be difficult to explain [any eventual] cuts to Italian and Dutch farmers,” Lewandowski stated, saying, however, that an increase in subsidies for Polish farmers “is an attainable target.”

Previously the opposition Law and Justice party had stated that increased agricultural subsidies from the EU should be one of Poland’s main priorities during the upcoming presidency.

The party’s head Jaroslaw Kaczynski wrote to deputy PM Waldemar Pawlak demanding the “mobilisation of the PM and the entire government” to try and raise EU subsidies for Polish agriculture. (jb)